Kingdom Hearts: No Secrets No Lies
by unversed-unbirth
Summary: Sora, Riku, and Kairi still don't know what they're up against. It takes the ones who've seen it all, Immortals, to push all three of them in the right direction; the place where three Keyblade wielders before them rest. SoKai,RokuNami,VanitasxXion,Rion
1. The Reunion

Sora was almost never home anymore and neither was Riku. She was getting sick and tired of it. Both had to leave many times on long missions fighting things that they refused to tell her about. Kairi wanted to go with them, but Sora refused, despite his previous invitations for her to come with him. She hardly remembered what had even happened. Now here she was standing on the beach, watching the waves lazily roll in and fall back out to sea. There was no breeze today, but it was still the early and chilly hours of the morning. What was out there besides the Heartless and the Nobodies that was so bad, she couldn't come? She wasn't weak like she was two years back, when they were both fourteen. She had her own Keyblade and was getting a little used to it. The salty air came a little close to comforting her, but it was still not enough.

"K-Kairi?" A voice asked her. She whipped around and faced a thin, lanky sixteen year-old boy with spiky chocolate-colored hair. Anger found its way into her eyes and she gave him one of her rare death glares. But he didn't shrug it off and lift her mood with a few jokes, like the normal Sora would. He just stood there, staring back at her, no emotion leaking into his bright cerulean eyes. That anger she felt, disappeared after a short-lived staring contest. She looked down to the sand, feeling a bit regretful. It wasn't like he'd been avoiding her, the worlds needed saving and he was there to save them. She put on her best "angry but I'm trying not to be" face.

"Sora! You're back already? I missed you!" she cried, hugging him. He stumbled back, but held onto her after a bit of hesitation. He tried to ignore the sharp pain, but it got to be too much. "What's wrong?" she asked. He shook his head, and put on a false smile.

_Don't worry Kai I'm just not feeling myself because I feel like shit from all the work and nobody's telling me anything! _

"Nothing."

_In your dreams, Sora, in your dreams._

"How long are you staying here?" she asked. He hoped his voice wouldn't express his thoughts too much.

"I don't know, they didn't tell us." he said, voice nice and even.

"Where's Riku?"

"Still in the gummi. He has some things to sort out." _Sure he does. Sike! He's visiting the digital therapist, that or, he's still got a hangover. _

"Oh."

They continued to talk, sharing (one partially lying about) what each had been doing while the other was gone. The sun now was high up in the baby blue sky, warming their faces as they sat on the warm, soft sand. Every now and then, a thalassa shell would wash up next to them. Then it would be swept back out to sea, then wash up again on the shore of another island. As they talked, Sora looked at the Princess of Heart. She could go home, to her real home, but she stayed here with him and Riku. She deserved better than this (that and he wanted vacay all to himself), and he knew it too. They both lay back on the sand and stared up at the sky. Sora closed his eyes and remembered what Riku had told him before he came. "You told me to make sure you didn't bring Kairi with you, and I'm doing my job by telling you to not be tempted. Even if _they _show up. We can handle this, you and me both. Right?" he had reminded him. Sora didn't feel any temptation, just relaxation. How good it felt to just lie under the sky with the girl he secretly loved next to him. Pay extra attention to that word; _secretly_.

He turned slowly and faced Kairi. She had her eyes closed and was breathing steadily. He sighed, and turned over so he was on his stomach like her. _She's so beautiful when she's asleep. _he thought. _No! Bad Sora, bad! No feelings, just relaxing, don't have time… Gah! _He sat up and watched the sun, now having risen high. He stood up and shook some sand out of his clothes. She murmured something in her sleep but it was unclear to him what she had said. Trying hard not to wake her (or trigger perverted thoughts), he lifted her up in his arms. He'd been training a lot lately and was close to being almost as strong as Riku, who could probably lift his two best friends at the same time. She stirred and tried to turn, causing him to freeze. _Please don't wake up, please don't wake up! _he thought. His pleas got louder as her eyes fluttered before she yawned. He felt his eyeballs nearly roll back into his head.

_"Stop freaking out; just say the word and I'll tell Namine." _Roxas told him. Sora mentally rolled his eyes at his Nobody's stupidity.

_"No! Remember? Whenever me and Kairi are together, you and Namine are together." _

_"Riiight... ok, just hope neither of them wakes up." _

MEANWHILE...

Riku rubbed his eyes before sitting up. Another nap on the cold floor did no good for the major headache he had. Last time he let Yuffie talk him into going to a bar with no regulations. The Radiant Garden age requirement was twenty-one, and he still had about four years to go. The alarm clock continued ringing, and he heard the annoying sound reverberating around the room. He yawned and shut his eyes tight. He was shoved by two small, but female hands. _Oh god. Did one of the Riku-crazed fangirls follow us again? _

"Riku! Get up, already!"

_Selphie? Here we go…_

"You're in my spot."

"No, I was here first. You _cannot_ make the guy with a hangover move."

"Watch me." she shot back, and kicked him in the ribs until he groaned and rolled over involuntarily. Curse her for knowing how defensive he was. The space he had occupied was now filled with Selphie, or he thought so until he opened his eyes and took off the blindfold. There she was, a look of extreme disdain on her face, dressed in all goth clothing; black lacy tank top, black skinny jeans, black leather boots, and a dark grey hoodie. Her once-sparkling turquoise eyes were highlighted by smoky eyeshadow. Purple lipstick added a touch of color. She opened her eyes and sat up, when she realized he was watching. She glared at him. "Can I help you?" she asked, her caramel-colored pigtails swishing around. This was _not_ Selphie. She was bright and bubbly, not dark and _that_. She had a crush on him, not a _deathwish_.

_Only one explanation,_ he thought while tackling her and holding her pinned to the floor. _She's a Silhouette. I feel sorry for her, there's no cure for a collapsed heart_

"Get off me you freaking pervert!"

"Ha-ha, I get that a lot."

"I don't have munny but I have a fleet of Heartless ships waiting right outside this world, and they will attack on command if you don't get your sorry ass off me."

"Nope."

"Heartle—" she tried to scream, but he did a pressure point on her. She got weaker as he pressed harder. Her eyes were half-closed, and he was able to rush outside to the cockpit. He asked Tron to place her in the Pit Cell with the other subdued Silhouette from Twilight Town. The security/operating system program used the transport ray thingy to send the Silhouette to its new holding area. King Mickey appeared on the message screen, resembling the video chat program inside Space Paranoids called "Skype".

"Riku, how's your vacation going?"

"Mickey, to tell you the truth, I feel like crap right now."

"Why? What happened?"

"One word. Hangover."

"You were drinking?"

"Yeah, what's the issue?"

"Nothing, just—" Donald ran into the frame of the screen and knocked the King to the side.

"Sorry your Majesty but we need to talk to Sora. RIKU WHERE'S SORA!" the duck shouted. Riku cowered under the control board at the front of the gummi. His head felt like it was being split in half.

"HE'S SOMEWHERE WITH KAIRI! DON'T SCREAM AT ME OR I WILL HAVE THE PLEASURE OF KILLING YOU BEFORE MY SUBCONSCIENCE! Oh crap, did I say that out loud?" Riku shouted back.

"Okay, thanks." Donald replied, stepping through the hologram. Tron seemed to have a glitch that allowed magic-users to step through without immediate detection. The duck was wearing what must have been normal uniform for Royal Mages at Disney Castle, because it just would've been plain weird to wear those clothes as normal.

"Not so loud! Do you _know_ what I feel like?"

"No, and I don't want to. Just give me the munny you owe for breaking Highwind." Cid interrupted, the volume in the room skyrocketing in Riku's mind.

"…" _Cid I hate you sooo much right now. When I get back from my vacation… _

"…" _What was that all about? All right, Riku needs to finish talking and then I can get outta here._

"Okay… what were you saying?"

"I got wasted last night and I have this huge hangover, so if you could please repeat the silence from before that would be fan-freaking-tastic." Riku finally piped up, shutting off the gummi's computer system. The whole gummi powered down, except for the hardly-ever-used air-lock which was manual, and the door with the ramp and pull-out stairs attached. The Teeny Ships had been set to deploy, and were zooming off the islands in a heartbeat. Yup, they're gone.

_**Okay, so first chapter isn't that great, but at least view the second chapter before you click the "Back" button in your browser. Thanks a bunch. **_

_**:D FK**_


	2. Confessions with a Side of Coconut Pie

She hadn't woken up the slightest bit when they were in his boat, nor when he had carried her inside her house (her parents weren't home that weekend), or when he climbed the stairs to her bedroom. She only stirred when he put her down. He hadn't noticed it, though. He was too busy staring at her, while she was lying down on her bed. However, just the thought of her was stirring up a small fear he had hidden away with other fears for a whole year. The Immortals had requested that he come to Radiant Garden, on the upcoming date, June 14, the day after his birthday when he and Kairi would be turning seventeen. It was May 31 today, and in just about two weeks, he would have to go to the castle. He didn't know why he feared it, all he knew, was that something inside him was telling him that he was in for it. Riku, he knew, would have to go too. But that would be the day after, June 15. There were good reasons to go, but then that'd mean he'd have to leave Kairi again _NO SORA. Nooooo!_ Sora softly stroked her cheek, tempted to take her with him. Tempted to stop paying a moogle to keep the memory erased. It was when she had gone along on their first trip back out and also when he had confessed his love for her. Both memories were gone, but it was for the best. _Yeah that's right, pull away before she notices._

Kairi's heart was doing flips inside of her. Their hearts were one and right now, she could feel his lingering nearby, one of the things she neglected to mention about. It always was something that slipped her mind whenever she planned to tell him about it.

LATER…

She sat upright, sweating a little. Confused, she gazed around. _How'd I get here?_ she wondered. She didn't remember coming home, just relaxing with Sora on the beach. Namine started to say something but she spoke so fast, Kairi couldn't quite understand.

_"Kairi! I can feel Roxas... he's not happy, at all, but... He's close by, which means Sora is somewhere around here." Namine said, slowing down._

_Oh. _she thought. That didn't surprise her, and even if he was here when her parents came home, it wouldn't surprise her parents. They knew his mom well, and they had gotten used to the idea of her two best friends being boys. She walked down the stairs and entered the living room. It wasn't anything special, but it had some great hiding spots for secret photos of her birth parents. She walked past the couch, which had a tear on the side where some were stashed. A bright white light shone from outside. She rushed out through the front door, and heard what sounded like a scream of frustration. She rounded the corner and held her breath.

"NO! Lumina, she can't go, and I won't let her go. We can do it without her right?" asked a voice filled with agony. It sounded like Sora, but she never had heard him be so upset.

"I am sorry, Sora, and I won't do what I did last time. But you will each come alone; we believe its better that way. You all are so different that it only makes sense to do it this way. All of you still have to show up on the date that I gave you." A woman responded with an understanding tone.

"Why the hell did I do that?" he whispered. She had to come closer to hear him.

"Because it was too much for her then, all the responsibility, you should know that. She was emotionally distraught and you did your best to try and set her free."

"I know, but I shouldn't have paid the Moogles—there should've been another way. Man, it's so unfair!" he said, still not looking directly at her.

"You yourself weren't really thinking. I'll leave you alone now, but be prepared when the time comes." The woman turned and disappeared through a portal.

"I will." he said and turned to walk around back to the front of her house. He had his head down the whole time and bumped into her.

"You, you..." she whispered not even being able to say it. She trusted him with her life, sure, but why'd he have to do something like… paying a moogle to erase memories.

"I couldn't stand it, Kai. To see you like that... it killed me." he replied with his blue eyes sucking all the shock out of her. Whenever he looked at her like that, all the negative feelings melted away. She couldn't stay mad at him for more than a day. "I love you too much to let you suffer..." he added in a voice barely above a whisper. She felt like screaming and shouting out of happiness, but she kept quiet.

_NO! YOU STUPID LITTLE SON OF A—_

"I love you too." she said, hugging him. He put a hand on her lower back and pulled her closer. Their lips met in a short but passionate kiss. If anyone had walked by and seen them, they would have also seen Roxas and Namine the same. _OH NO! THIS ISN'T HAPPENING, THIS IS __NOT __HAPPENING!_

"I want to promise you something, Kairi." he whispered in her ear. He only called her "Kairi" if he was dead serious. It was always "Kai" or "Iri"

"What would that be?" she asked.

"I promise that I'm gonna spend every moment I can of the next two weeks with you."

"That'd be nice, _really_ nice, if my parents weren't coming home tomorrow." Kairi paused. "Then there's Riku..."

"He'll get used to it." Sora reassured. He was going to say more, but was cut off by a strange glow coming from Kairi.

"What the... Namine?"

"Roxas! Are you okay?" Namine asked, ignoring Sora. He looked next to him and saw his Nobody, standing, but not transparent. Now that he thought about it, neither was Namine.

"What just happened?" he asked.

"Simple. If your hearts are open, then we both can take physical forms like before. If they're all locked up, then only one of us can be like this."

"Your hearts are one," Namine said in her usual quiet, soft voice. "So what happens to Roxas happens to me. It may not be the exact same thing as before you... you know..." She hadn't meant to spill Kairi's well-kept secret, but it popped out of her mouth anyway.

"Ha! I knew it," he said, sounding actually happy and not the least bit embarrassed. They shooed their Nobodies away, hoping to be alone for a little bit. "Somebody please just slap me three times, I must've fallen asleep on the job again. Yeah, and the kids are poking me with sticks, causing me to wake up but have awkward hallucinations." _YEAH! JUST WAKE UP FROM THIS NIGHTMARE YOU CAUSED ME, I MEAN, US, I—YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN, I'M YOUR SUBCONSCIENCE FOR CRYING OUT—_

She slapped him three times across the face, and then kissed him full on the lips. He had a handprint on his cheek, but it was hardly noticeable; the rest of his face was crimson. "Now do you still think you're dreaming?"

"No… and I'm not sure how much longer I can stay… conscious… uhh…." he muttered before passing out. She had to push up on his chest to keep him from falling, and also had to put his arm over her shoulder to help him back inside the house. She pushed him back onto the couch, and then stretched out trying to relax her arms and shoulders. It was a few moments before he opened his eyes. _I actually was dreaming._

"We definitely need to work on that." she said when he moaned and shoved his face into a pillow. _Oh shit, it was real._

"I can't help it. You're the only one I've ever really liked in that kind of way." he confessed. She didn't seem to have changed her mind. "Hey, don't act like you wouldn't pass out if I did…this?" he said, pushing her back down on the couch and forcing her to make out with him. She did exactly what he would've done, passed out. It was five minutes later that she woke up. Her eyes were opened really wide, which wasn't much of a shocker. "Four words; I-told-you-so." _Ah, that felt good other than the fact that… YOU'RE SCREWED MAN, SCREWED!_

"If you never liked anybody before, where'd you learn to do that?" she asked, standing up. Her legs were shaking just a little. He shrugged, giving her his copyrighted grin. She fell back onto the semi-soft cushions and pouted. She knew he was lying, but didn't press the "I'd never ever lie to you. NEVER." Sora.

_Let me go over the reasons why you are screwed, young Padawan. One, YOU TOLD HER. Two, YOU TOLD HER. Three, YOU EFFING TOLD HER. Oh, you wanna know why it's such a big deal? You won't have time for her, she'll get mad, dump you, and you end up crying inside a cardboard box on the side of the interstate road between here and Nolu (another island). Got it, tough guy? _

"I'm so ready to enjoy my vacation. Sleeping, eating, sleeping, playing video games, catching up with everybody, and everything else." _At least we agree on one thing._

"Seems like you really look forward to sleeping. Sora? Sora? SORA? WAKE UP YOU LAZY BUM!" she shouted in his ear, he kept snoring away with the same stupid smile on his face. She went into the kitchen, and grabbed her emergency Sora-related kit. She pulled out a pack of gummi worms, hot sauce, and the most essential piece, a slice of coconut cream pie. She dipped the worms into the 911 hot sauce. She opened his mouth and pushed the gooey mess inside. The pie, she held it under his nose while moving his chin up and down to help him chew. An all-too effeminate shriek pierced her ears and she covered them while Sora scavenged the house for water. He dipped his head into the sink after turning on the faucet and gulped away.

"W-what was that… ow, ow, hot, hot, HOT!" he plugged the drain and dipped his head in the pool that was forming. She shut the water off and watched as the water level went lower and lower and lower until he raised his face to breathe. After a moment of near-tears and stuttering, coconut cream pie found its way into his hands. He didn't even pause to let her get him a spoon or any other utensil before he devoured its creamy goodness. _Ah, such a wonderful pie… but I am still mad at you for TELLING KAIRI._ She returned with said spoon, and dropped it on the floor to see the empty plate.

"_Dude, why so mad at yourself?" _

_Have you not been listening?_

"_Was I supposed to?" _

_Ugh, I am not in the mood._

"_Just tell me!" _

_Fine. I AM MAD AT MYSELF BECAUSE I TOLD KAIRI. I WASN'T SUPPOSED TO NO MATTER WHAT! SHE KNOWS, MAN! I CAN'T GIVE TO HER WHAT SHE'S GONNA GIVE TO ME!_

"_Stop yelling." _

_NO!_

_"I'll sing the Roxas song if you don't stop!" _

_Fine, you got me son of a-_

"It worked! I should get that patented; oh wait a sec… that's not a good idea."

_Why does she keep interrupting my too-good-for-adjectives thoughts! _"Why not? Oh man, I love this pie!"

"Well, the pie you just so happened to fall in love with is all over your face."

"_Probably because you picked the wrong time to think!"_

"Nuh-uh! It's only around here." he said, pointing to the area around his mouth.

_I hate you when you're right._

"_I know, but do I look like I care?" _

…

"Okay, so what? I exaggerated, I admit it."

_**Will Sora stop yelling at himself for telling Kairi? Will Roxas have to sing the Roxas song? Will Donald show up at his scheduled time? Until next time, on No Secrets No Lies! –FantasyKeymaster2599**_

_**Also, REVIEW**_

_**Note to unsuspecting (returning) viewers, the chapters from one to seventeen are all being edited. If you see significant plot change, do not be alarmed it was intentional. And to those who were wondering, the reason I don't have a disclaimer is because it's obvious I don't own Kingdom Hearts! **_

_**Again, pleeease REVIEW**_


	3. Like Somebody, Like Nobody

Sora and Kairi returned to the island in her boat; his boat was way too small. Riku was yelling at somebody for being too loud. At the sight of Kairi, the Keyblade disappeared and their best friend jumped down onto the sand. "Hey Sora, hey Kairi." he said. Looking from Sora to Kairi and back again. He smiled slightly and shook his head. "Am I a master at divination or what?" he asked growing serious again

"Or what. I'm taking Kairi with us." _NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! STOP! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TRYING TO GET YOURSELF INTO?_

"You do realize that we have only two rooms. And I am so not sharing." Riku pointed out in an attempt to save his best friend from ultimate destruction. Sora gave him the, "I'm not doing it so don't even try"_,_ look at first. "Oh come on! Just for once can you play along?" Then the look changed to half-"Thanks Riku!" to half-"I hate myself".

"Oh... right." Sora said remembering. "When we get to Disney Castle we can have the gummi crew add another." _Good, play along and get yourself out of this._

"I think you mean we have to see Cid about it. Remember, Highwind doesn't have Warp Speed either. Or those new engines that you know, come with the..." Riku added, his voice drifting off. He had little knowledge about Gummi Ships. The plan dissolved into nothingness, and the subject was gladly changed.

"Anything new from the King?"

"Yeah, but just to check up on us."

"What about Donald and Goofy?"

"I'm right here!" Donald said, coming out of the Secret Place. Two out of three teens froze in place, paralyzed with embarrassment. Their taller and still-recovering friend stifled a laugh at the expressions on their faces. It was so identical it fit their nickname just perfect. "Sora, why'd you leave without saying anything?"

"Eh?"

"Don't try to play dumb, even if it might be normal for you."

"Riku had a hangover."

"Not an excuse."

"I was too tired."

"You mean too lazy." Kairi corrected. He glared at her.

"Anyway, I know the Paopu Twins want to be alone...so I think I'll show you around." Riku said and started towards the wooden door that was much too small for him to go through. Sora and Kairi hadn't grown all that much, but it too, was a tight squeeze. Sora turned a little red at Riku's nickname for them. Riku had a bad habit of snooping around and he'd just come across the picture in the Secret Place. Sora however called his "snooping" more of "curiosly exploring clearly prohibited areas". Kairi blushed just a little more than he did. Donald noticed their red faces, and chuckled before rushing after Riku to get back to the gummi ship.

"So, what else were you up to in Radiant Garden?"

"Getting trampled by fangirls, fighting Heartless, the usual."

"Fangirls?"

"Yeah, it's fun at first, but in reality, they're stalkers." _Oh you have no idea. _

"Oh."

"What about you?" _Careful, this could easily be a deathtrap set by her to lure you in._

"_Will you just shut up? Stop being so paranoid." _

_No! It could be fatal if I—_

"School, home, friends, and all the stuff we did before."

"Sounds good."

"_No, you left something out Sora. Tell her."_

_No._

"_Yes."  
_

_NO._

"_YES." _

"Kairi, I think Sora has been hiding something." Namine said, sidestepping out of Kairi.

"Nope, I told you everything."

"Sora, you can't _lie_. I'm part of you and Kairi, so I hear your thoughts when I'm not inside Kairi."

"No ya can't." he insisted.

"Oh really? I know you're fighting with Roxas over telling her."

_Holy shit, how'd she know?_

"I heard that, 'Holy shit, how'd she know?' Never try to outsmart the telepathic Nobody." she said, smirking. Kairi put her hands on her hips at Sora's stuttering.

"Well? What is it that you didn't plan on telling me?"

_Aw, busted. What do we do now?_

"_What do you mean 'we'? This is your problem, bro." _

_Rox, come on man! I'll never ask for your help again!_

"_Here comes the Roxas song, extended version!"_

_N-O. _

"Would you mind telling me what the 'Roxas song' is?"

"Err… it's complicated."

"_Yeah, you mean you don't like my song." _

_Shut up. _

"_Okay! Here goes… My name is Roxas!" _

_No, it's already suckish. _

"_Check out my hair." _

_You just said that 'cause you think your hair is more awesome than mine. _

"_When there's Nobodies, I'm always there."_

_Go ahead, sing the next part with Namine standing right there. _

"_Watch me. I met a girl, named Namine." _

_Here it comes._

"_She told me things, I cannot say." _

"That is so not true! You can say them, you're just too scared."

"_The memories, I'm searching for." _

_When does this end?  
_

"Don't ask me, how am I supposed to know?"

"_Are all behind, a closing door." _

_There isn't a door out here, genius._

"_Axel my friend, he claims to be." _

_He's as much your friend as Riku is mine. In other words, he's your best friend for the rest of your effing life. _

"_He tells me that, I have a key." _

_Of course you have a key; you've had it since the day you were born!_

"_I'm number 13!" _

_You _were_ number 13. _

"_In a group of thirteen Nobodies!" _

_No, really? _

"_But I left because they were not very good buddies!" _

_We both get wasted just one time and we all end up with theme songs._

"Sora, I thought you hated alcohol and drugs and stuff." Kairi asked, when Namine told her the song.

_Namine, don't tell her, but they make for a good knock-out. _

"_That Axel guy, I told you about." _

_Yes, you've told us about three hundred seventy-six times._

"_Well quite frankly, he creeps me out." _

_Seriously? What were his dying words to you, my dear Nobody? _

"_But I'll still fight with that Xemnas guy." _

_I got news for you. He's d-e-a-d._

"_I betcha I, can make him cry."_

_He doesn't have a heart, much less tear ducts. _

"_Done! That was a mouthful. Now, how about the Sora song, except out loud._

"No. _Hell _no." he said, out loud, without realizing it. Kairi looked confused and surprised.

"Go ahead Sora. Roxas already humiliated himself with the Roxas song, now you do yours."

"_I'll get him started." _

"No, besides, you don't know how to call Stitch, whoa, spoke too soon." Sora added when said creature knocked him over. He pulled out a Keyblade, sighing, and started to play it like it was an actual guitar. Roxas forced him to smile, which got a few giggles out of the girls. "You will never find the body after this, but here goes my dignity. I am Sora, here's my Keyblade. When there's Heartless, I'm not afraid. And I can drive—a gummi ship. Or else I'd have, a quiv'ring lip." He was forced to make a pouting face. Again, he was laughed at. "And all the friends, I'm searching for, will lead me on, a big world tour. As I search for, the door to light. I know I'll find, a bunch of sprites. I'm the Key-bearer, from a Disney-Square based RPG. So please don't think I'm a reject from a Final Fantasy! And all our fans, like to draw us. Though some can cause a shipping fuss. But I'll still fight, with Xehanort. My gosh that rhymes with Voldemort. Gah, I'm finished for the rest of my life. If I wasn't a guy, I'd be crying right now."

"I didn't know you could sing."

"I only sing if I don't have a choice or if I'm wasted. RIKU has a SONG. And I'm sure you guys WANT to HEAR IT."

"How many of you guys were drunk when you wrote those songs?"

"There was me, Roxas, Lea, some other guys, we tricked Cloud, we got Leon there, Cid, and that was it."

"A year goes by, and we seem to not really know each other anymore." Kairi said.

"I know, and I'm sorry." _NO! Why do I have to be so nice to people?_

"For what?"

"I promised you I wouldn't ever change, and look at me now!"

"Sora, that was a really long time ago."

"A promise is a promise."

MEANWHILE...

Xehanort slowly wandered around the chamber, almost free of the spirit of Maleficent. More memories were coming to him. Not "ordinary" memories, memories of an elderly man. He kept seeing the old man in vivid flashbacks. It was then he started to doubt Maleficent and himself, too. Who was he really? All he knew was he had woken up with amnesia somewhere and ended up as an apprentice for Ansem the Wise. The old man in his memories was not alone... there was someone else in them. A young man, perhaps in his twenties? Who were these people now haunting him? He only thought of them as haunting because they wouldn't go away.

_"Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't make the same mistakes I made. Whatever you do, don't do it!" a voice said in exasperation from within him._

_"Don't listen to that fool. I know all that you desire to know. I have the answers to your many questions. He does not. Now which of us do you think is the better choice for your well being?" another one asked in a cool, calm demeanor._

Putting a hand on the wall, and lowering his head, he didn't reply. Something wasn't right; in all his time as Ansem the Wise's apprentice, voices had never been apart of the equation when they studied the heart. It could be made by connections from one heart to another, where communication was easily achieved. The answer to this was clear. He had to get out of here, get away to the lab. That was all he thought of doing to explain the idiosyncrasy.

_**Change of plans for Xehanort, some more of Sora's days with Kairi.**_

_**What happens next? Will Xehanort actually find his way out of C.O.? I would put up more questions, but my fingers are numb.**_

_**Too bad, 'cause I have to write one last part. **_

_**PLEASE REVIEW!**_


	4. Ray of Sunshine

**Hey! Here's a summary of what's already happened.**

_**1. Sora and Riku came home from ? (can't tell you, it's a spoiler!)**_

_**2. Sora confessed his feelings to Kairi, in a little short romance thing, idk.**_

_**3. Sora, Riku, and Kairi hang out on the island they used to play on. **_

_**4. Wait... this is chapter 4.**_

The dirt path was long, never-ending, ahead of him. The bright, green grass swaying in the slight breeze only added onto the seeming distance. At least Castle Oblivion was far behind him now. Even if it had taken hours to navigate the halls. He had had no brain at the time of his Nobody's death and his awakening. Just like when Ansem the Wise had taken him in and made him an apprentice. No memory of the past, no thoughts for the future. Just the name Xehanort. He always did wonder what his past was like. Maybe he wasn't losing all his sanity, maybe those pictures in his mind were possibly memories of some sort. Maybe the voices he had heard were voices he had heard in the past. If that was the case, he had just wasted potentially valuable time walking miles in the same direction getting nowhere.

_"Yes... you still do have quite a lot to learn. Much like I did when I was your age." _

It sounded like the old man, he was quite sure. He had that weariness in his voice, the same kind you'd find in a man who was ready to take his last few breaths, and well… die.

_"I don't have much longer you see, and I had so many... plans for the world. That's how you were born (with a little help, of course.) Now your lifetime goal is to carry out those plans, nothing else. I mean, look around you, you have no other chance at life."_

MEANWHILE...

Sora sat on the couch in his boredom, and self-loathing. The news was on, again, showing something that wasn't very new anymore still. Some Heartless were running around on the streets as usual and people could even see a few Dusks here and there. Sure he could go out and help, but what use would it be if they'd just come right back stronger by numbers? Roxas had told him many times about the Pureblood and Emblem Heartless, though he'd never given much thought to divide them into different categories. So far, the Destiny Islands' Heartless population was just Pureblood. It sounds cruel to see all these creatures on your home and do nothing about it, but they had tried. Sora's Anti-form had them under his control for a few days, but the Heartless were attracted to him and as a result, they started to spread. The aftermath of that form didn't have a nice effect on Sora either. A story best left unsaid, and a story left unheard.

"These creatures have made another attack, this one just off of the main highway. The victim was a young woman, age nineteen. She has chosen to remain anonymous, but does say that she was driving home when a band of creatures more commonly known as Shadow Heartless appeared in front of her car. She swerved off the road and crashed into a tree, but when she managed to free herself from the wreckage. Though, the attack still wasn't over. The other white creatures known as Nobodies, specifically Dusks, attacked her to the point where she was an inch away from d—" Sora shut off the tv, not wanting to hear about it. Sure it was something that happened everyday in town. Like robbery, or identity theft. Murder or conspiracy or you get it now. Either way, he didn't like seeing it, hearing about it, or (by some chance that the universe hates him) experiencing it. His friends had learned that quickly, after another story left unsaid. Riku slid in through the partially open door of the treehouse and sat down next to him. Neither said a word, or moved. Everything seemed frozen in time, they were so still. Riku would have liked to cheer Sora up or do what friends do when one of them is upset about one thing or another, but his best friend was not in the mood. _It won't be long, _Riku thought, _before he snaps out of it. Still it's a rare sight to see him so down._ His eyes wandered around the treehouse, from the hanging party lights, to the bunk beds and boxes, down to the sanded floor composed of wood planks. Two side-by-side grooves had been worn into the floor, belonging to the one and only, happy-go-lucky, ray of sunshine named Sora. They'd gotten in trouble so many times, that in his nervousness he would swing his legs back and forth. Once, they used the grooves to keep their skateboards. Ah, bet you thought it was Roxas who learned that and taught it to him. Wrong! Sora already knew how, so Roxas learned as a "natural" ability.

Sora hadn't noticed Riku, having retreated into the confines of his heart. He didn't feel anything outside, he didn't see, didn't hear. He wasn't lying on the couch lazing around; he was walking around on a mural waiting for her. If he ever needed a friend that was out of reach, he'd find them here. The silence in there was deafening, Roxas had never really done this before, being his Nobody and mentally challenged. This mural was his and his only. Roxas had his own special place, but he shared it with someone who easily could be his twin. Up to three in stories unsaid. Despite being one in the same, they were as different as night and day, keeping their distances from each other.

At the same moment that Sora had withdrawn himself, Roxas had opened his eyes to find something or someone else on his mural. He couldn't see too well who or what it was, the hood on his Organization cloak was covering his eyes a little. For some reason, Roxas had become so attached to it since he remembered everything about his days in the Organization. Maybe it was the good memories that it reminded him of, but he wasn't about to give the Roxas Fan Club any ideas after the AkuRoku incident, even worse for Sora because of that one time they had to kidnap a girl for suggesting SoRiku. He'd paid Yuffie to dress up like a fourteen year-old and give them non-yaoi pairings, like RokuNami and SoKai. Back to the main topic, so many mysteries surrounded him, and so little answers ever came. Sora wouldn't be any help; he'd already given his one answer: who his complete self was. Namine, the only other Nobody like him... not even she really understood it. He kept his eyes locked onto it, and summoned Oblivion. It didn't seem to notice or care, it didn't even twitch. Roxas felt something in the grip of his free hand. It had been a long time since he last saw this particular Keyblade. The handle was pale green and completely surrounded by the red guard sporting two spikes on each side that pointed diagonally downward. The shaft had concave edges and was red-orange at the base and gradually lightened up towards the blade ending in a point. On the tip was a large, silver X-shaped charm not unlike the upper half of the Nobody symbol. It was the only thing connecting the teeth to the rest of the weapon. The teeth were formed by a black arc lined with spikes. Twilight Blaze was the key he held in the place of Oathkeeper. It pulled away from him and started to glow with a blinding light. The colors started to fade from the key as Roxas shielded his eyes. It was like he could see the Oathkeeper there, but yet he couldn't. The handle was now a pale violet, and still surrounded by the guard, which was now a light metallic blue. The shaft was a similar color, ending in a mixture of three; blue, yellow, and violet. The charm on the end was now completely black with the same teeth surrounding it, only silver instead of black.

_"Roxas,"_

He lowered his hand from his eyes, now being able to see again. Was it that person or thing that was standing across from him? No, this voice was coming from all directions. It was echoing in his head, too, only confusing him further. He felt a magnetic pull between his hand and the key.

_"Twilight's Escape."_

He stepped forward as the key came closer. He raised his hand as the key vanished. It reappeared in his grip like any other Keyblade. He still wondered about it. "Who are you?" Roxas shouted across the mural of himself, ripping his eyes up from the odd key. The shadowed figure turned, and he saw a black outline against the misty air. The first guess was Anti-Sora; its hair was spiky, but they weren't the same gravity-defying spikes Sora had. Instead the spikes were arranged in a fohawk just like his own.

"Who are you?" it shouted back. Stepping closer in a battle stance, Roxas could see it had the same sky-blue eyes and dirty blond hair.

"I'll tell you, if you tell me." Roxas said, smirking.

"Fine. My name's Ventus, but call me Ven." It—no the boy—moved closer, and Roxas got a good look at his face.

"My name's Roxas."

"What're you wearing that cloak for? Show your face!"

Roxas shrugged knowing he'd be able to kill the thing within a minute. At least he figured it was a thing, something that _did_ exist. He started toward the thing but stopped when he discovered he was at the end of his mural. The thing was further off than he thought. The stained glass-like stairs appeared before him and he ran up to the next mural. When he reached the last step, he felt like he was having half of him torn away, without a bandage or stitches. Like he'd been sliced and left to die. The mural he was now on was broken and cracked in places. He took off the hood of his cloak and tightened his grip on the Keyblades.

"Hey! Is this some kind of joke? Who are you really? Is something going on with Sora?" Ven asked. He looked so much like Roxas, that Sora's Nobody felt the same way.

"No, you're the joke or whatever. I'm just his Nobody." Roxas replied.

"Nobody? That doesn't sound nice."

"No, you don't get it. When somebody with a strong will becomes a Heartless, two things are left behind; the body and soul. They give a Nobody like me a form and life but yet they don't exist and they don't have hearts. Sora had such a strong will that I looked human and he was able to carry on through me. I'm a special kind of Nobody because I was born with no memory of my past, I have actual emotions, and I co-existed with him."

"Wow. Things change when ya sleep for twelve years. I was like that once, I had no memory of my past either. I was so stupid not to realize that I had no childhood memories, no memories of my teen years. I wouldn't have ruined Aqua's and Terra's lives. It's all my fault." Ven muttered, clenching his fists. Roxas raised an eyebrow in question. "What? I ain't crazy, so don't look like it."

"Dude, I never said you were."

"Make yourself useful and tell me how to get out of here! I'm tired of sleeping, but no matter what I do, I can't wake up."

"I can't explain how. And I don't know you, so I don't trust you. You could easily be some evil munchkin from another world."

"I'm at least an inch taller, so _you_ are the munchkin here."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

_**Short chapter, again, I apologize for that. PLEASE REVIEW. It's motivational people!**_

_**Sora: Why did I have to sing that stupid song from YouTube in the last chapter? **_

_**Roxas: I actually liked it.**_

_**Sora: Shut up.**_

_**Me: See? They've changed since KH1 and KH2 **_

_**Riku: And what's up with the hangover? That freakin' hurt.**_

_**Me: Okay. Riku, most people like you. Sora, everybody likes you whether you sing that song or not. Roxas, same goes for you.**_

_**Riku: What do you mean most people? **_


	5. I Can Explain

"Sora!"

"Mom? I thought you were—"

"Right back at you. Where have you been? We sent out a search party all last summer, but nothing ever came back." she said sadly. He wouldn't admit it right away, but he did feel bad about not telling anyone from his home world where he'd been all this time.

"It's a really, really long story."

"He's not joking, but my version is a little shorter." Kairi admitted.

"But mine's better."

"No it's not."

"It has more action, more adventure, the works of an epic saga in the making."

"I'll listen to both of you. Sora, you go first." his mother said, growing slightly impatient.

"Ha! In your face, Kai!"

"Are you going to tell her or not?"

"Oh right. Well, Riku and I sorta knew there were other worlds, and the three of us started building a raft. I gathered supplies, not sure what Kairi did, and Riku started building the actual thing. The night after we finished, that storm came in, and I was worried it might destroy all our hard work. So I took my boat to the islands—"

"Which is when I found your open window, and no Sora."

"You got it. Well, when I got there, these weird creatures attacked me. I ran into Riku, and asked him where Kairi was… but he wasn't acting the same. 'Kairi's coming with us.' was what he said. Then he started talking about how he wasn't afraid of the darkness, and I tried to stop him but he got swallowed up by it. I started looking for Kairi, and found her in the Secret Place. She was acting kinda funny too, and when she turned around that door with no handle flew open—"

"The world's keyhole." Kairi murmured.

"I was getting there. And she went flying, but I tried to catch and she went right through me."

"When you absorbed my heart."

"Why can't you stop interrupting? Nevermind. I started flying too, and I flew right out. So I ran back to the other island, where I last saw Riku, but he wasn't there. I had gotten this key-shaped sword, which I later found out was called the Keyblade." Sora held out his hand and felt the Kingdom Key appearing. A beam of light appeared in its place before it was visible. His mother jumped back, but he continued to tell the story. "Then I had to fight this huge dark creature, which I'd fought before in a dream (don't ask). I beat it, but I got flung off the floating island and fell through a corridor of darkness to Traverse Town."

"Traverse Town? Where's that?" his mother asked. Her son's story seemed to be one of the dreams he'd have when he was younger. The only thing justifying his story was the key-shaped sword he gripped tightly in his right hand. She reached her hand to touch it, and he actually handed it to her. The material of the shaft appeared to be steel, well, it sure felt like it. She could see her blurry reflection.

"I'll show you." he said, as the "Keyblade" disappeared in a flash of white light. She noticed his voice had also changed, not just his appearance. She watched him do a backflip onto the deck, smiling like an idiot the whole time. She shook her head, caramel-colored locks swaying from side to side. She opened her eyes to see him concentrating on the dimming sky. Stars were just starting to dot the blue, and in this part of the neighborhood, you could see just about every star against the dark blue canvas of the night sky. He used the thumbs and forefingers on each hand to make a triangle and pinpoint one specific space object. He waved a hand for the two to come closer, and they leaned over his shoulders to see the object inside the triangle. It was big and shone bright; really a wonder of the world, since the scientists had yet to prove they were giant floating balls of gas. "That, Mom, is Traverse Town. I suppose its where the refugees of other worlds go when their home gets destroyed. I met Leon, Cid, Yuffie, and Aerith there. Save all the questions for the end please." he said, raising a hand as she opened her mouth to ask another question. "I also met my friends from Disney Castle, Donald and Goofy there. Yuffie can't seem to get their names right. Enough about that. Donald's the Royal Court Magician and Goofy is Captain of the Royal Guard of Disney Castle. They were under orders from the King to search for two things; 'a mysterious key' and Leon. They tagged along while I was searching for Riku and Kairi, yeah I still had no idea you were stuck inside my body Kai."

"So, what do you mean by 'tagged along'? Did they follow you or did you follow them?" his mother asked, knowing her son could stretch the truth sometimes—even if the story was already to far-fetched.

"We went from world to world, to stop the Heartless, and lock the Keyholes out of reach of the darkness to protect the worlds' hearts. I ran into Riku when we came back to Traverse Town. Man, you don't know how relieved I was to know my best friend was safe and sound. But he hadn't found Kairi either. We kinda hung around like old times, but he went somewhere and we went somewhere. Maleficent, this evil little bi—" Kairi made a "zip it" motion with her hand when she realized what he planned on saying. _Riiight this is Mom we're talking about. _

"_Mom? Does that mean I'm the son she never knew she had?"  
_

_You're a part of me, so sure Rox, welcome to the family._

"_Aw thanks man! Can I come out?"  
_

_In a sec, I gotta get to your part of the story first._

"_Okay. Ooh I'm so excited, the only family I really had was the Organization and they weren't really nice minus Axel, Demyx, and Xigbar, they were pretty okay."_

"Sora?"

"Oh right. Maleficent told Riku that I had replaced him and Kairi with Donald, Goofy, and the Keyblade. He believed her, and went off on his own to find Kairi. My quest allowed me to make a ton of new friends, and find strength of the heart—and Keyblade too. When I got to Hollow Bastion, Riku confronted me and told me that he was supposed to be the Keyblade Master and said I was 'just the delivery boy' but no hard feelings there it was in the past. He took the Keyblade and 'cause of their orders, Donald and Goofy had to abandon me. The Beast, he was there too, asked me what I came for, I realized I needed to show the same attitude as him. We got to the entrance, and I met up with Riku, Donald and Goofy again. They kinda felt guilty and returned to my side. This was my big hero moment; Riku said, 'Quit while you can.' I said, 'No, not without Kairi' and he warned me, 'The darkness will destroy you.' Here it comes… 'You're wrong, Riku. The darkness may destroy my body, but it can't touch my heart. My heart will stay with my friends; it'll never die!' and then he said, 'Really… well, we'll just see about that!' Then he tried to kill me for the first time. I nearly got hit by the dark blast he sent my way, but Goofy protected me with the shield he has. He had his own moment, and so did Donald. 'How will you fight without a weapon?' that's what Riku asked, and I said, 'I know now I don't need the Keyblade. I've got a better weapon. My heart.' And him being _that_ Riku not the Riku from before or after, he said 'Your heart? What good will that weak little thing do for you?' and I-"

"How long does this go on?"

"It's a hero moment, so relax. 'Although my heart may be weak, it's not alone. It's grown with each new experience, and it's found a home with all the friends I've made. I've become a part of their heart just as they've become apart of mine. And if they think of me now and then, if they don't forget me, then our hearts will be one! I don't need a weapon, my friends are my power.' The Keyblade realized my heart was stronger than Riku's for that moment, and it came back to me. Then Riku tried to kill me again. End of hero moment. We defeated Maleficent, Riku unlocked the darkness in her heart, we fought her and defeated her again. We go further into Hollow Bastion, and we find Riku again. He calls himself 'Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness' and that's when everything kinda clicks in my head. So I find out Kairi's a princess, and that her heart's inside me. Ansem tries to get it out of me, but I defeat him too. So, we're stuck trying to figure out how to get Kairi out of me so we can seal the Keyhole, and I get this idea. I take the Keyblade of People's Hearts and…"

"And what?" his mother asked, noticing her son's hesitation to go on.

"You won't like it." both of the teens said at the same time.

"I know I didn't like it, but it wasn't like he had another choice." Kairi said, trying to stick up for him. He took a deep breath and looked into his mom's azure eyes.

"I took the Keyblade of People's Hearts and stabbed myself with it to remove both of our hearts. I sacrificed my humanity and became a Heartless, which Kairi saw when she woke up. That was when I created Roxas and Namine—yup that's your cue bro." he said, turning away as Roxas and Namine sidestepped out of their respective Somebodies. They were transparent for a moment, but their bodies started to solidify after a moment or two.

"'Sup, nice to meet you, I'm Roxas. That's Sora with an 'X' in it. I am Organization XIII's very own number XIII, Key of Destiny. I wield two Keyblades, Oblivion and Twilight's Escape. For three hundred fifty-eight and a half days, I was the reason your son was missing for a whole year. He'll tell you the rest of the story when he feels like it. We've went over this many times in Sora's head, so congrats you now have another son. Oh and to get the point across, I'll sing a song."

"NO!" Sora and Kairi both said, tackling the poor Nobody to the ground. He cried anime tears at the fact that they didn't like his song even though he knew it beforehand.

"And my name is Namine. I was the only one whose name had no connection to their former selves. I am an artist and a witch, meaning I can rearrange all of your memories and such at will. I don't wield a Keyblade but I know some magic. While Roxas was born in Twilight Town, I was born in Castle Oblivion. The Organization used me for purposes not even I know, but they all are dead and gone. Well… isn't this awkward?" Everyone but Sora's mom nodded. She was still in a state of shock.

"There is one more, teensy tiny thing you gotta worry about. It's Anti-Sora." Roxas said. Sora lifted his head and nodded in silent agreement.

"Yeah, Mom. You see… the darkness in my heart is in the form of an inner Heartless. It only takes over when I use Anti-Form, if I'm about to die, or if my negative emotions get out of control. Rox, make a barrier and Namine, you help. Kairi and Mom, you guys stay back. This is gonna get ugly." Sora muttered before sighing. Everyone else moved into position as Sora locked and bolted the door. He knew he'd regret it later, but he called out in his head to the darkness in his heart.

"_So you finally need me? I knew it. You were always to weak to fight on your own." _

_Shut it. I have to let my mom know what she's dealing with, so what do you say? Give her a taste of Anti-Sora?_

"_I'll do it, but don't for one second think that I want to help you. I just need more darkness…" _

_Hey, you're on my turf now, so no killing. _

Sora didn't notice he was crawling on the ceiling until he felt his head hit the barrier. He looked up at his hands and saw that they were turned black, and that black smoke was starting to come from them. His hair started to turn black at the tips, and then the area around his eyes turned too. He still hesitated, and it cost some of his strength to push away. The darkness consuming his body—his own darkness. He felt a searing pain in his eyes, and shut them tightly before screeching and digging his claws into the ceiling.

"_It's playtime now." _

_What are you? An evil doll? Hell no, you're Anti-Sora now get out there and do whatever until she gets it. _

"_I don't take commands," _

Kairi felt Sora's mother clinging tightly to her shoulders as Sora glared at them with glowing yellow orbs. Namine and Roxas stayed calm, like they'd seen this a million times. Anti-Sora dropped down from the ceiling and faced them. "Oh yeah! This is my body now! OW! You twit, stop doing that."

"Sora's trying to control it."

"Yes, to my disappointment. I've got two words for your Sora, EPIC FAIL." And with that, it shoved a claw into the tile of the hallway and let the darkness spread. From the small circle it created, seven dark orbs rose up. They shot through the ceiling and Anti-Sora started to laugh. "That'll show you. Now onto the real show. Care to challenge me Roxas? You know, like old times in the Awakening?"

"Eh, I could use something to do." the Nobody replied, bringing Twilight's Escape down on it's shoulder while slamming Oblivion into it's side. Anti-Sora recoiled and lunged out at Roxas with both claws. It got a good hold on his head, and started to shred up his shirt to get exposure to the one weak spot on his back. Roxas kneed the Anti-Form and got behind it while it was still recovering. What he didn't expect was the claw going through it's back to grab Oblivion and hurl it at the wall. Armed with only one key, the Nobody had to resort to his special attacks which would drain most of his energy. He planted both feet firmly on the ground before shutting his eyes and focusing his element, Twilight, into Twilight's Escape. A circle appeared under Anti-Sora, and chainlinks of that specific element wrapped around it's legs and arms before squeezing. Spikes jabbed through the unprotected flesh of the dark creature, and it screamed in frustration. Roxas smirked as he was drained of the last bit of energy he had. He collapsed as three vertical spines stabbed through Anti-Form,

While Anti-Sora and Roxas finished up their fight, Sora's mother was dialing the number for Kairi's mother. The phone rang a few times, and then the teen girl's mom finally picked up.

"Hello?"


	6. Falling Down

"He what? Most importantly, is my Kairi okay?"

Sora's mother looked to the dark figure of "Anti-Sora" writhing on the ground as Roxas drove both of his Keyblades into its body. She heard Sora scream, but a sound didn't escape. He was back to his normal self in a matter of seconds. He flipped open his cellphone and dialed in a number.

"Yeah, Aerith? You have any idea what seven hearts of darkness mean? Uh-huh. Nope. Wait, what? Of all the setbacks and crap he can pull, he does this? If I wouldn't kill myself in the process, I'd kill him."

"Kairi's fine, and so is…"

"Her other daughter Naminé, c'mon people get it right!" Roxas said, ignoring the fact she was on the phone.

"Who was that?"

"My 'other son' Roxas. He's Sora's Nobody."

"Oh, I think I'm going to pass out."

"Oh no you won't Lelah, my son just turned into the weirdest creature I've ever seen and I'm here talking to him and these Nobodies."

"Aerith, what's that? Oh shit, you gotta run! Those crazy bitches will kill you just to get my number. Wha…? So what if my mom's right there, Rox? I don't give a—fine Aerith, for your sake I'll hang up. Tell Yuffie to stay outta trouble, bye!" Sora hung up the phone and shoved it back in his pocket. "What?"

"Using his Anti-Form takes a toll on him, so he'll be a complete asshole from now until tomorrow afternoon. Good luck." Namine said before disappearing. Kairi glowed orange before Namine disappeared completely. Roxas pouted and raided the refrigerator in the kitchen.

"Uh, we'll talk to you later." Sora's mom said, hanging up while her sons destroyed her house.

ONE WEEK LATER…

Sora helped Kairi get her belongings inside the gummi, before waving bye to the neighborhood teens; Tommy, Amanda, Sam, Wakka, and Tidus. They all gave him bright and cheery smiles as Riku tossed the duck into the bridge. The teens only saw Kairi's mother and father, and Riku's father. Sora waved from the cockpit. His smile faded at the death glare he was getting from Kairi's dad. He made sure everyone was inside, before giving a "back up" signal to everyone. He flipped two switches on his left to turn on the engines that would lift them up, and took the mini control pad with him. He ran back out to the door, and waved again.

"Don't worry, Kairi's gonna be fine! We fly this thing all the time. I'll call you when we're steady!" he shouted, getting cheers of excitement. He walked back in and pressed the button for them to switch to hyper-gear. But the pulse that sounded out knocked the control pad out of his hand, and knocked him back with force towards the door. He tried to stop sliding, but the smooth surface made him roll right out of the gummi. "Riku, Kairi, keep going, but shut the hatch! We don't need anybody else falling off!" he screamed as he fell. The islands got closer as he searched frantically for pixie dust. He found the vial, but it was empty. _Oh shit, man. And on top of that, I'm low on mana._

'_Great. We are going to die.' _

_Nope, not if we combine our mana and time the spell right._

'_You sure?' _

_Yup. Let's do this. _He summoned the Kingdom Key, and concentrated his power into it. He heard the screams, but focused. One, he could touch the palm trees. Two, he could see the shocked faces clearly. Three, he was about to hit the street… "Protega!" he shouted. A honeycomb sphere appeared as a shield around him. He bounced off, and the momentum was lost. The shield started to crack, and exploded into pieces.

"Sora, are you alright man?" the teen named Tommy asked.

"Yeah, but one more thing from me and Rox. THAT WAS AWESOME!"

"What about the spaceship? Don't you have to go?"

"Riku knows the drill. If I'm not back in five minutes, he sends the Teeny Ships."

"Teeny whats?"

"That." he replied as a black, red, and blue Teeny Ship landed. He peeked at the tiny cockpit to see Riku shaking his head on the digital hologram.

"Sora, of all the idiotic things you do here, you have to fall out of the hatch?" his best friend asked. Sora shrugged and jumped onto the Teeny Ship. It started up, and he turned back to Sam.

"I'll email you a link, and there's this place we can meet up no matter where I go."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. I gotta go." the spiky haired teen said.

"Well, see you some other time." the other, blue-haired teen replied. He was about to take off, but Kairi's father stopped him.

"My baby girl better stay out of harm's way. If she gets even a scratch, it's on your head."

"Don't worry. She can defend herself." Sora said, lifting his shirt to show off the scar from the final battle with the Nobodies, the scar from his sacrifice, and the long, almost six-inch open wound he had underneath gauze and bandages.

"How'd you get those?"

"This one is from the time I killed myself in Hollow Bastion to save her, this one is from the battle with Xemnas after she escaped The World That Never Was, and this one is none of your business, sorry."

"Sora, you've died before?" Amanda asked.

"Yup, but no death certificate. According to Donald and Goofy, I was dead for about an hour and a half. Well, gotta run." Sora finally said, after a moment of silence. He gripped the tiny ship with all his strength, and took in as much air as possible before they left the world barrier through the world gate. He held his breath, and felt himself turning blue. Lucky enough, the speed boost kicked in. He rocketed off towards the airlock, jumping in before the ship even stopped. He spent five minutes in the bridge, writhing on the floor while gulping for fresh oxygen. Kairi pulled him to the cockpit, and put his seatbelt on for him once she managed to get him to the chair. "Nnn… I feel tired." he said after yawning.

"Then go find your bed or wherever it is you sleep."

"I don't wanna!"

"But you said you were tired."

"No I'm not!" he insisted, then yawned.

"Riku, what's up with him?"

"Think like this. Space has funny things inside it, and those funny things get inside little Sora's head and mess him up. Like sniffing glue, or the laughing gas at the dentist."

"Is this real life?" Sora asked. Kairi nodded.

"How long is he going to be like this?"

"He was out there for ten minutes so give it just a little time." Sora sniggered at this.

"You have four arms." he told Riku like it was the funniest thing in the world.

"No I only have two," his best friend informed him. Sora started screaming, like he did with the emergency Sora kit, but it was high enough to crack the glass.

"It's okay, it's okay. Riku's supposed to have two arms, and you only have two too."

"We're all genetic freaks!" he whined. "How is that okay?"

"It's gonna be a rough ride."

**(NEW!) NSNL Short (This is what happened the day after Sora turned Anti-Form)**

Sora was about to run out the door, when his arm was grabbed and he was forced back. "I don't think so. Did you put on sunscreen?"

"Yes." he replied without turning around. He was already late, why was fate trying to make it even worse?

"Got your towel?"

"That fag Riku's bringing them."

"Keys?" his mom asked, ignoring him. It was going to be a long three hours.

"I don't have a car."

"Prove it."

"We don't have a garage, and there's just the pile of trash you call a car in the driveway."

"Same old Sora."

"Nope. The old me's dead and gone, Mom. This is his fuckin' replacement."

"Okay… well, have fun!" she said, trying to be cheery for his sake.

"You don't tell me what to do. Face facts, mother of mine."

"I'm your mother and you do what I tell you. You're sixteen, and that means you live under my roof and under my rules."

"One word; FMOL."

"FMOL?"

"Yes. Fuck my old life."

"Okay, that's it. Riku was right, you are being a total ass right now. Just go."

"Thank you!" he said, running out in his t-shirt and swimming trunks. When he reached the curb, he could see Riku's house and the beach neighborhood. He dashed over there and somersaulted into the waves. "And THAT is how it's done."

"Show-off." Riku muttered.

"What was that, ugly fag I call my best friend?" Sora asked, cupping his ear and leaning closer. Riku felt like kicking his ass right then and there, but restrained himself. Kairi waved to them, showing up in her school outfit. _It's the last day of school, maybe I should've gone. _

'_Is that a _normal_ thought?' _

_Shut up or I'll go terrorist on you. _

'_Oh, so this morning wasn't 9-11?' _

"Sora, Riku, I hope you don't mind but I brought Amanda with me!" Kairi said, motioning towards the girl with wavy, hot pink hair. She had fierce green eyes, and thin lips. She smiled at them, and tugged off her uniform. She ran towards them, wearing capri shorts and a tight-fitting tank top. She wasn't skinny, but wasn't fat either. She had brought a surfboard and was paddling out towards the taller waves. Riku turned away and cast a storm spell and watched as she enjoyed the ten foot waves. Of course, the down side was the wave that he'd made was coming back around to them.

"Ah, there's the catch. And you call _me_ mental."

_**Another chapter down, twelve to go. You know the drill, so REVIEW! **_

_**Sora: Yes, please. Before she kills us all. **_

_**Vanitas: As long as she kills you and not me, I'm fine. **_

_**Ven: Typical. Am I in the next chapter? **_

_**Riku: Thank you for not making my hangover last a week. **_

_**Roxas: How come I'm barely in this chapter? **_

_**FK: You took my cookies. **_

_**Roxas: You gave them to me!**_

_**FK: Doesn't mean I wanted you to eat them! Poor cookies, :*( **_


	7. Awakening

"Okay, so let me get this straight… you want me to hook you up with some gummi stuff?"

"Yeah, should be easy for you. You are the captain, after all." Sora replied, after regaining his mental stability. Kairi had chosen to explore the gummi, and the boys had put up locks on the exits so nobody would fall into nonexistence.

"True, my Keyblading friend, oh so true. Well, in about two days you two can leave. But—" Sora froze. So there _was_ a catch, "—you both have to enter the Battle Royale. Invite your Nobody friend after he goes through security."

"What's the Battle Royale?"

"Oh right, you two always left when me and Ellie were announcing it. Remember, 'Ladies, gentlemen, kids, and aliens, we are proud to announce—' and right then ya left. The Battle Royale is epic. You see, everyone comes to a single Hangar once a month. We organize something called the Program. There everyone is registered with collars tracking their movements. If you're a competitor and someone says 'I surrender' to you, they'll be ported out of there with their lives. The Battle Royale is being hosted by us this year, and we want you guys to participate. You'll be issued to a world, a.k.a. level, and then you'll fight to surrendering or to the death. Of course, killing comes with a consequence. You kill, your collar will self-destruct. After twenty-four hours, we refresh your supplies; a map, compass, flashlight, food and water, and a random weapon or other item to back you up. Every forty-eight hours, you'll be ported to another world. This year, we start at Twilight Town."

"Sounds like fun!" Sora said. Riku slapped him upside the head.

"No, sounds like we can DIE!"

"I meant, it's perfect. We can train there while trying to survive against all kinds of enemies."

"And you get an award for being the last one standing." the captain pointed out. Sora made a military salute. The captain laughed quietly at his friend's attempt to be serious—and respectful. "At ease. So it's a deal. Alright, I have to go talk to the higher-ups so tell Ellie everything!" the captain said over the audio transmitter. They heard a beep, then Ellie's shy voice.

"Sora, Riku, that you?" They each replied with a yes. "Okay. How many people on board, Nobodies not included."

"Then there's only three. And one duck."

"I'm guessing that this duck is the Royal Court Magician from Disney Castle? Okay, enough chitchat. Can I have the ratio of males to females?"

"Uh…"

"How many females and how many males, Sora? You should go to school, sometime."

"Oh, two guys one girl. And one duck."

"Gotcha. You'll be in suite 227. I hope you'll be prepared soon, because the Battle Royale will start in an hour."

"Say WHAT?"

"What."

MEANWHILE...

He blinked and rubbed a sore spot on his chest, the area where the cursed heart of his lay. He yawned and sat up, faced with cobalt blue eyes. He screamed and jumped back, trying to calm himself down. "What the—"

"Who are you?" she asked. For some reason, he felt at ease when he heard her speak. She leaned back, and watched him stand to stretch.

"The name's…" His blood ran cold as realization hit him. What was his name? Who was he? Where was he? Why was he here? Who was this girl? His mind gave him no answers to any of the questions. "You know what, I should be asking _you _what _your_ name is."

"Xion." the girl replied, her eyes darkening at the mention of her own name. She studied him carefully from under the hood of her black cloak. "You were out for a while. I saw you appear out of darkness and I've been trying to wake you." She removed the helmet from his face to see his grey skin, charcoal black hair, and light-grey eyes. The far-away but perplexed look told her that he was no different from the way she had been when she had first opened her eyes on the Destiny Islands. "You have amnesia don't you?"

"When did you figure that out?"

"Just now." she said. He stared at her as if from a distance, making her want to ask him some questions of her own. Silence took over for a moment, but it wasn't awkward. It wasn't comfortable either.

"Where am I?" he demanded. She bit her lip and gazed around at what must've once been beautiful scenery. She shrugged, but didn't explain. "Why am I here?"

"I can't answer that, either." she answered.

"Why are you here? And who are you?" he asked

"I told you, I'm Xion. But if you want to know more… then I should warn you, it's a long story. " she wondered out loud. He kept the vacant expression.

"So? I wanna know." he said. She wondered if he knew about the rhyme he just made, though his ever-so-blank expression

"Don't say that I didn't warn you. Alright, here goes. I was 'born' in Castle Oblivion, the way Naminé put it. Organization XIII wanted to use me as a replacement for Sora."

"What's Organization XIII and who's Sora?"

"Sora is sixteen, soon to be seventeen. He's known among the human-populated worlds as _the _Keyblade Master. He killed himself once over a girl, and is best friends with Riku. Riku's a Wielder of Dawn. Yen Sid called him the 'Key That Connects Everything', so he's pretty much the big hero." she extended a hand to help the boy up. He reluctantly took it and stood up to full height. He was only a few inches taller but he couldn't be much older. They started to walk through the barren landscape. "Back to my story; so they sent me to their headquarters, The Castle That Never Was. I was silent—I mean _really _silent, not a peep. Roxas got me talking when Axel left for Castle Oblivion, but what neither of us knew was that Vexen had designed me to sap Roxas' strength until he was nothing. Sora was sleeping, and if Roxas was destroyed, he'd never wake up and stop Xemnas from recreating Kingdom Hearts. So I confronted Roxas after he ran away. He fought me and I returned to Sora."

"So you died."

"No, I didn't. Sora _absorbed_ me."

"Whatever, same thing."

"And just how would you know?"

"Point taken." he said, stopping. She stopped just a few feet ahead, and saw why. In all this loneliness, there was a house. Victorian-style, with chipped paint and cracked windows that were smudged with dust that must've accumulated over the years. She placed a hand on the doorknob and pushed to discover it was open. He passed her and gazed around the small space. It was unfurnished, other than a table and two chairs with a locked chest in the corner. "Welcome home, Xion!"

"You aren't serious. Anyway, since we're apparently a team now, what's the plan?" she asked.

"I dunno. Let's start with my memories, and take it from there."

"Okay, sounds good. Now where are we s'pose to sleep?"

"Try looking for something to sleep on. We've both slept on the ground for a while so the floor can't be much different." he suggested. They searched the "attic" and found nothing but paper, photos, and cobwebs.

"That Sora kid, do you know him?"

"Sort of. Why?"

"We can borrow some stuff to sleep on from him. You know, sleeping bags, blankets, the works."

"No! That's stealing!"

"So?"

"So, it's wrong." she insisted. "Enough about that. We should come up with a name for you until you remember your real one."

"I'm listening."

"You're black and white so you're a Sentiment."

"A Sentiment?"

"Yes, a being destroyed by light, and the opposite of a Silhouette."

MEANWHILE...

Roxas panicked in the bridge. Where was Namine? Riku and Sora tried to keep Kairi from passing out at the fact they were competing in a fight to the death, but she did anyway. So now they had a might-as-well-be dead body in the passenger seat and two inexperienced pilots trying to steer them into the garage. He heard Sora try to get them safely inside number two, and was relieved when they only scraped the ground. He sighed in relief. Then he sensed something. A Corridor of Darkness opened and somebody in an Organization cloak ran by with a guy in a suit similar to what Riku wore in Dark Mode and a silver helmet with dark glass concealing his face. "What does this have to do with helping me?" he heard the masked boy ask.

"Nothing. I just need to check somethi—oh hey Roxas."

"You know me?"

"Oh, so you really did forget. Alright, what's a Heartless?"

"Darkness made real."

"Nobodies?"

"Nonexistent beings made from a body and soul with no heart. They're shunned by both light and darkness." Roxas said, repeating what he'd been told over and over again.

"Unversed?"

"No freaking idea."

"There you go." the girl in the cloak said.

Sora pressed the landing button and the gummi stopped in a parking space just big enough for Highwind to fit. Riku rubbed his face after frowning. Sora turned away to shut off everything, and then picked Kairi up. "You sick bastard. Why did you tell me I had to smile the whole way here? Remind me to never fly a gummi with you."

"Oh, yeah? You talk about not wanting to be on the same gummi as me, well, at least I didn't crash a Gummi Ship into an orphanage!" Sora retorted.

"For the last time, it wasn't an orphanage! It was a mental asylum! There is a big difference." Riku corrected.

"No, both of you are wrong! It was a pie shop! All that pie, gone to waste..." Roxas reminisced. Those pies were the best in Twilight Town.

Kairi smiled to herself as the boys bickered about where Riku had crashed the gummi. "Hey what about Sora and Roxas, they crashed into _something_, right?" she asked. Riku put on a mischievous grin, before rubbing his cheeks again.

"Let me tell you about the look on Cid's face when Sora crashed the brand-new replacement gummi into a Heartless ship and tried to fly it back but crashed into Merlin's house and destroyed the blueprints for Claymore." Riku said and distorted his face into a funny display. Sora summoned his Keyblade and aimed it at Riku.

"Blizzara!" he shouted. A cannon-ball-sized chunk of ice flew towards Riku's head. He ducked and the ice instead hit Roxas. The unlucky Nobody fell to the floor, ice slowly spreading on him until his body was frozen solid. Sora was on his knees, holding his head. "Stupid Nobody connections." was all he could manage to say before becoming paralyzed.

"See? This is what happens when you fire a block of ice at your Nobody. The two of you are one being, so if one gets frozen solid, the other does too." Riku explained. Then he motioned for Kairi to follow. They didn't notice Vanitas and Xion backed up against the wall, or that they were sneaking into the cockpit. Vanitas leaned over Sora, while Xion tried to speed up Roxas' defrosting. Sora's arm started twitching, but when he aimed a punch at him, Vanitas grabbed his wrist and twisted.

"So this moron is the almighty Keyblade 'Master', the 'Key that Connects Everything'? Impossible." he added before letting the paralyzed teen go. "Hey, he looks just like me. A very good looking kid, while he's at it." The being of pure darkness removed the helmet and shook his head. He was right; they could've been twins. Except that in hair and eyes, one was black and yellow, but the other was brown and blue.

"What… what are you?" the paralyzed teen asked.

"I'd say 'your worst nightmare' but Master ain't here so I don't know what to do with you." 

"Make… yourself useful, and get us to the Battle Royale." Sora said, sitting up with the help of the twin. He didn't ask anything about the fourteen year old Kairi look-alike, but let the twin guide him out. He noticed the guy was squeezing his arm a little harder than he should, and that he had pushed him out of the hatch onto the metal flooring.

"RIKU! I've got your stuff, now get Sora and move it!" a guy with neon purple hair said. His hair pulled back in a ponytail and some of it covered his brown eyes. He wore aviator goggles and wore a dark blue button-up jacket with a nametag; "Alpha Captain, Sector 12". He had baggy white pants and green Converse All-Stars. The necklace he wore had a number of charms on it, with a tube hanging from it. He caught her staring and flashed a smile. "The name's Jamie. And if you wanna know what this little baby is, it's 100% pure gummi. The only one in existence. My stepbrother Myde had it first but he wasn't that into the family business so they gave it to me."

"Never knew you had a brother." Riku observed.

"Yeah," Jamie said, his smile disappearing slowly. "Myde had hair like that Nobody kid, 'cept it was darker. And his eyes were green. He liked to play guitar, and hated working."

"Demyx!" Roxas shouted, running towards them soaking wet.

"Demyx?"

"Organization's number IX! So he was your stepbrother in his past life."

"My bro's a Nobody?" Jamie inquired. "NO!" __

Kairi slipped outside while Riku tried to prevent Jamie from having a nervous breakdown. Sora was trying to move himself to the door but the spell wasn't in his power anymore. She leaned down to help him, only to have her hands shooed away. His skin was cold and clammy, but she still tried to transfer her body heat to his while Namine did the same to Roxas. Both started to move slightly, Sora now being able to talk and Roxas being able to move his arms. "Riku, I swear I will..." his teeth started to chatter as Roxas was still mostly frozen; him being the one who got hit with the blizzard-type spell in the first place. Kairi glanced at Namine who shrugged. A surge of pain then caused her to drop into the same position as Sora, who fell over with no support. She curled up into a fetal position and pressed her hands onto the sides of her throbbing head.

_"Kairi, although you are unfamiliar with me…I may just be the only one who knows the answers to your questions. No one else can help you, not even the ones you would trust your life with. You have nothing here; you might as well be nothing if you can't embrace what little you have. This destiny, of yours, it is unstoppable. No matter what, you can't do anything." _

_She had thought that her sister would be kind and caring, not _this._ However, the way she had said that, in a sickeningly calm way, was what got her. It was truly maddening._

Kairi's breathing quickened, but she managed to put together some pieces. Sora had paid the moogle to erase the memory of the person who had said that to her. Who was 'her sister', though?

_"You never know, the four of us may be your only hope." the voice told her in conclusion. _

More voices found their way into her head.

_"You'll never be as good, Kairi. Never." _

_"Give up while you can, give up before it's too late to save anyone."_

_"You speak only madness. Take her away, out of my sight!" _

_"You could say, I'm heartless... but would it really do you justice?" _

_"Kairi, no!" _

_"We trusted you, and you betrayed us! Betrayed me!" _

She wanted to scream, but her mouth was clamped shut. The memories were overflowing, too fast for her. "Sora..." she murmured before it all went black.

MEANWHILE...

Lumina remembered how hard she had been on Kairi. The girl was simply too distracted, she couldn't uphold her responsibilities. She had shoved too much responsibility onto the child. She glanced into the spinning orb in her hands, seeing the gang tending to a frozen pair of teens and an unconscious princess. Her focus was lost and the rare and magical crystal shattered. A woman wearing tight coffee brown leggings tucked into formal shoes, with an X-strap tan top with a gold plate of armor on her chest and also on her back. The straps turned black at the hem She had charcoal black hair, but most of it was a transfer between blond and orange with two silver orbs separating her hair into three.

"Oh, not again! I know how precious that rock was to you." she said. Lumina shook her head.

"We have more trouble. Kairi, she's experiencing her memory. Something may be interfering, Xehanort, is my first guess." she said, implying that there were more important things than the semi-precious orb, now shattered on the floor.

"Oh. Anyway, we should be worrying about Sora and Riku. Those two are the ones who are going to fix up the Keyblade Graveyard. They need to turn it back to a world that can actually support human life." Jossi said, turning serious. She took them to the Gathering. The platform rose high and unseen winds blew the castle in Radiant Garden to dust, but there was a bright flash of white light, a bit of darkness, then they could see.

She saw the land, grassy and green with patches of wildflowers to make healing items. She saw the town of Azeroi. It was all so familiar, the cool breeze rippling the grass like a big and green ocean, the warm sun shining bright in the skies covered in powder-like clouds. As they rose higher on the platform, she could see the Western Sea, its surface glittering. She knew this settlement was strictly for mages, and mages that had wind as their element. Around them, Gummi Ships were leaving and landing, Keyblade Rides flying through vortexes in the clouds. Then, just like the blissful dream it was, the grass below started to die, turning yellow and then disappearing altogether. The clouds vanished and the sun beat down on the landscape with heat that hadn't been there before. She saw the castle, which the Immortals, scholars, Masters, and older students lived in, crumple and slide down in an avalanche of rubble. Where the windy town once was, there lay an X-shaped path, lined with Keyblades.

The sea pulled back towards the horizon until it was out of sight, and the sky turned to a sunset of purples, pinks, oranges, reds, and yellows, but that was about it. Jossi put a hand on her fellow Immortal's shoulder. "Sora, Riku, and maybe even Kairi will have a lot of work to do. And they're only teenagers. Hey, Lumina? Do you think that, they would like it here? I mean this is their true home, but they've come to love that island world." she said, and the scenery changed to the Destiny Islands. The platform lowered itself onto the soft, white sand. Lumina stepped off and gazed around. It was a natural paradise. The salty ocean air, the calming sound of the waves crashing against the shore. She saw a seashell come in with the tide. She knew coming to this world would revive some of the events that occurred. Jossi started to run towards the little offshore island.

She saw a boy curled up, holding his head as someone was talking to him in an unusually calm demeanor. She recognized the boy as Riku, but a lot younger. The person was dressed in a black zippered cloak, with the hood pulled down. He had his metallic pale blue hair in a longer version of a pixie hairdo. His eyes revealed nothing as he caused Riku more pain on the ground. Before her eyes, Riku turned into Sora. She was so confused.

Lumina saw a shooting star, as well as a red-head girl running towards the ocean. She waved out to sea, after the star crashed into the water. That was when she realized that it wasn't a star, it was Sora and Riku. They swam towards the shore but stopped in the shallow parts when an oversized duck, mouse, and dog tackled them. Now she saw it was sentimental value this small, nearly empty world held that drew the Keybearers back time and time again. "I wonder if, Xehanort went down Riku's path. But we both know he was missing a key component."

"Sora. Yep, that kid's definitely got potential. But if we repeated our actions, surely he wouldn't turn against us, would he?"

"I can't tell you that, but if he has a temper, and it gets the best of him—we can kiss our dream of balance goodbye."

"Hmph. I'd think that you would fight for light only."

"Light and darkness, the two can't exist without each other. It's like yin and yang. One creates while the other destroys, one is good while one is evil, one is welcoming while the other is intimidating. And vice versa. Vanitas, the one of pure darkness, he has a light inside. It isn't bright, but that's Xehanort's fault. The light never fades out, and maybe one day… both Ventus and Vanitas can be balanced beings." Lumina mused, as the scenery went back to where they were originally.

Jossi scoffed. "Really, Lu? You know it isn't your job to worry about that."

"Still…" Lumina murmured, tucking a loose strand of silvery-blonde hair behind one ear.

"It's Kaimei's job to worry about him, and Ankoku too."

"I know. And I shouldn't worry about Kairi and her family because that's Koryo's job."

"Nah, Rehn's tough and 'awesome like that'. You know she kept her human aspects after her time." Jossi said, reminiscing about the Immortal of War. If it was violent, and you could fight, she'd be up for it. Of course, the war still destroyed the world and killed everyone. They were lucky to be restored after leaving the Realm of Light when Sora and Riku opened the Door to Light.

"Why wouldn't she? A heart like hers was a strong one, stronger than Sora's, but even that didn't save her as a human—or Immortal. She's picking up the pieces, one by one, just like the rest of us. She may be 'alive' but she won't be as alive as before and not even this life will last. If Vanitas can use the connections between him, Ventus, and Sora along with his attachment to Void Gear, he'll be able to come back. If Terra-Xehanort has both a Heartless and a Nobody, and the beings have merged, then he'll be able to come back. Master Xehanort left Terra's heart inside the Lingering Sentiment, so we can fetch it there, and then we can subtract Terra from the equation…"

"But what about the body? Xehanort won't hand it over willingly."

"Vanitas has more appeal, I'll bet. He'll take over his apprentice's body until something even better comes along."

"I feel bad for poor little Vani. He'll end up being the new Terra-Xehanort." 

_**REVIEW! PLEASE, I'D WRITE ANYWAY BUT THEY'RE MOTIVATING! –FK**_


	8. Another Side, Another Story

_**Don't get you're hopes up, short chappie.**_

Kairi woke up in what looked like a cross between a hospital room, and the school nurse. It had the same for white walls, the same sort-of soft white bed, and the same desk with all the potions and things. She saw a girl with completely red eyes and golden hair clipped just below her ears. "You alright?"

"Um, I guess so..." Kairi said, confused. She couldn't remember why she was here. Whatever it was, she hoped it wasn't something fatal.

"Oh, that's good, miss. _Someone_ was really worried about you." Kairi couldn't help but blush. Sora always freaked out at the little things that happened to her. Even when they were kids, he was really protective. She swung her legs over the side and jumped down. Her legs were wobbling at first, but she gradually managed to steadily make it to the door. The girl with the red eyes was in a chair by the door. She saw she wore an outfit similar to what Jamie wore, only without the jeans and Converse. She wore flats and a pencil skirt instead with a nametag stating her name was Ellie.

"Uh, hi Kairi. Feeling better?" she asked quickly. Something was on her mind, she could just tell. Intuition? No, just the simplicity of body language. Also, the girl had a bit of a British accent.

"Yeah." she replied. Ellie played with her thumbs a little then reached into her pocket, nervously.

"Sora and Riku couldn't, ah, stay to see if you would be alright. They are contestants for the Battle Royale." she explained. Kairi noticed the girl was very shy, as opposed to the captain's wild personality.

"What's that?"

"The Battle Royale is a tradition among the worlds. Adventurers, warriors, and the like, come to one hangar to enter this competition. It's a 'fight to the near-death', where you will attack each other until one surrenders. The battle will keep going, but if you are responsible for someone's death, then the collar you are assigned will detonate in less than ten seconds with no warning. There is a munny prize and other prizes too. We were going to ask if you would like to give it a go, but the first round has already begun. They're number ten and twenty-four." Ellie turned to the tv in the high corner of the room, turning it on by waving a hand. "You can watch while you rest. The nurses will come if you need them."

"Oh, okay. Thank you, Ellie."

"No problem, it's always nice to help." Kairi watched her shut the door, and then turned to the tv. It was tracking the movements of a group, all of them being of the same family or race. The captain's voice rang out, and he declared a match.

"Two on two, then one on one. Last one standing gets a transport to the healing station." Kairi pulled her legs up as the people turned on each other and pulled out weapons from their bags; fans, guns, chili powder, and a GPS. Of course, the one with the GPS surrendered after having his eyes burnt with the chili powder, and the other one with the gun shot himself in the shoulder when his teammate covered the current area in Twilight Town with chili powder by fanning it around. She gasped when one started to choke on the powder. Of course, they dropped dead from lack of air in ten minutes of suffocation. She saw the silent countdown and covered her face as the collar of the one with the chili powder detonated. She hoped Sora and Riku would be okay. "Well, we have a winner! Go on, head to the Station Tower!"

_"I apologize Kairi, for being so... It was only because you had your head in the clouds. It's no longer fun and games; you have serious responsibility on your hands. Take this, oh, and don't forget to return here. Sora and Riku will tell you when." the woman said in a more considerate tone of voice. Kairi looked at the crown necklace in her hands. It was so beautiful..._

She rubbed her eyes and was about to fall back asleep, when an anthropomorphized cricket floated down onto the sheets in the infirmary hanging from a tiny red umbrella. He had olive skin, thin black eyebrows, four-fingered hands, and wore white gloves. He was dressed very formally, wearing a royal blue top hat with an orange band near the base, a red vest with a single, pink button on the front, a yellow ascot, a black blazer, and a high-collared white shirt. He also sported tan pants and yellow shoes with black tips. He tossed the umbrella to the side, and showed her a journal with a crown on the front. She took it from him, and watched it grow to the size where she could read the neat, precise handwriting that she could only assume belonged to the cricket in front of her. "Jiminy Cricket, and that's my journal." he told her, pointing to himself and then to the journal. "I'm the royal chronicler, and I've documented all of Sora and Riku's adventures, yours too. Sora's first adventure is in Volume One, which you have, and his second is in Volume Two. Volume Three just details the past before Volume One, and Volume Four has yet to be made." She opened the first page of Volume One to see the table of contents with a brief introduction that stopped at page five. Sora's story started on page six.

"His story as we know it started with a dream-world, Dive to the Heart. He heard voices but though they were silent he could still hear them. It is somehow connected to the real world, as evidenced by the 'Darkside' a creature which attacked Sora within this world and on the Destiny Islands when they were being destroyed. Sora confessed that he hadn't listened to the voice telling him that 'the farther you step into the light, the greater your shadow becomes'. At this moment it is yet unknown the nature of this comment. Kairi was the one to wake him up, after fighting with a Dream Sword. He helped his two best friends to prepare a raft to go see other worlds. One night, the islands were attacked by darkness and shadow creatures. Sora seeked out his friends, finding Riku first; Riku disappeared into darkness, curious about what it contained. Soon after, Sora obtained a mysterious weapon, the Keyblade, to defend himself. Fighting off the creatures, he headed for a secret cave where he found Kairi near a door. She turned to him, saying his name as the door behind her blew open. The ensuing blast of darkness sends them both out of the cave. The islands were destroyed soon after, leaving Sora adrift and Riku and Kairi's whereabouts unknown." it read, for the first chapter about the Destiny Islands. The next was about Disney Castle and Traverse Town. "King Mickey had left his world to deal with the increasing power of darkness and left instructions for mage Donald Duck and knight Goofy to find the 'key'. Donald and Goofy used a Gummi Ship to travel to Traverse Town, where it happened to be where Sora had also drifted to. Sora encountered the creatures again in the town, and eventually met Leon, a mysterious swordsman who explained they were Heartless, creatures that consumed hearts, and that the Keyblade was the only weapon capable of defeating them. The temporary ruler of Leon's home world, a man named Ansem, was said to have studied the Heartless. Donald and Goofy were approached by Leon's ally Aerith, who also told them what they may be looking for. Soon after, Sora met Donald and Goofy rather hastily, and the three worked together to take down a large Heartless. From there, they decided to travel together: Donald and Goofy to find Mickey, and Sora to find Kairi and Riku." She moved on to chapter three.

"The three traveled to various worlds, finding that the Keyblade also locked 'Keyholes', passages that the Heartless used to take the heart of the world. A group of villains, led by Maleficent, seeked out the seven Princesses of Heart to unlock the Keyhole that led to Kingdom Hearts, a repository of knowledge and power and the source of all hearts. This group then included Riku, who was swayed by Maleficent's promises that she will help find Kairi. At the same time, Maleficent sowed distrust in Riku, telling him that Sora had abandoned him and Kairi for new friends and the Keyblade. An increasingly antagonistic Riku managed to find Kairi's body, but her heart was missing. Sora and his friends eventually arrived at Hollow Bastion, the home world of Ansem and the headquarters of Maleficent. Riku took the Keyblade from Sora, claiming that he was fated to have it all along and Sora was simply the 'delivery boy'. Donald and Goofy, taking their order to follow the 'key' seriously, reluctantly left with Riku. Sora called on his courage and entered the Bastion anyway, then challenged Riku again, stating that his heart derived strength from his friends. His friends returned to him, as does the Keyblade. Shamed, Riku fled and met a cloaked man who motivated him to give into the darkness."

Chaptern four, "Sora, Donald, and Goofy, meanwhile, engaged and destroyed Maleficent. They soon after met a strangely-behaving Riku with a new Keyblade that unlocked hearts. He led them to Kairi's living but unfeeling body; Riku then revealed himself as completely possessed by Ansem. The newly reformed Ansem explained that Kairi was the last Princess of Heart, and that her missing heart had been trapped within Sora's body since the destruction of Destiny Islands. Spurred to action, Sora defeats Ansem; however, he couldn't seal Hollow Bastion's keyhole because Kairi's heart was still in his body, thus the keyhole remained incomplete. Sora used Ansem's Keyblade to unlock his heart, releasing both his and Kairi's heart, but turning him into a Heartless. Kairi's heart returns to her body, in turn completing the final Keyhole; she then returned Sora to human form by the strength of her heart. The group resolved to follow and end Ansem's plan. Ansem retreated to the End of the World, the combined fragments of worlds taken by the Heartless. Upon being found and finally beaten, he explained his belief that darkness was the heart's true essence, and he sought Kingdom Hearts, the source of all hearts, and therefore the ultimate source of darkness. However, upon opening the door to Kingdom Hearts, it revealed Light, killing Ansem. Beyond the door were Mickey and Riku, back in control of his own body. They helped Sora and the others close the door, as there are many Heartless beyond it, but Riku and Mickey had to remain inside to help seal it. Mickey and Sora then used their Keyblades to lock the door. The destroyed worlds reconstructed themselves; Kairi is pulled back to the Destiny Islands, but Sora promised before separating they will all reunite some day. Sora, Donald, and Goofy resolved to find Riku and Mickey, though they are unsure of where to start. Luckily, Pluto appeared, clutching a letter from Mickey in his mouth; he runs off with Sora, Donald, and Goofy in tow, ready for a new set of adventures."

She shut the journal and glanced back at the TV displaying the match between Riku and Sora, which was apparently the match everyone had been looking forward to. Sora was using a form, Final Form, and his outfit had changed to a silvery white and black version. The symbols on his pants resembled an eye with a wind pattern. He wasn't actually touching the ground, like his two Kingdom Keys weren't in his hands. Rather, they were hovering behind him, somewhat like angel wings. She thought it made him Nobody-ish, in an odd way. Riku dodged Sora's kicks and punches, while rolling out of the way of the Keyblades. It looked like Sora was tiring out, but his eyes still burned with an unnatural ferocity. He ran towards Riku, grabbing a tree limb and swinging up and into the air. He spun around and slammed the Keyblades down, finishing his best friend off in a powerful combo. Sadly, Sora didn't count on the shield Riku raised up to defend himself from the uncontrollable Keybearer. She was getting more and more worried for the both of her friends. Jamie burst in, still doing the commentary. He escorted her to the suite they were supposed to stay in. She stayed up, just watching the match, but her body's exhaustion took over. When her eyes did crack open, she could feel warmth that wasn't there before. It only took a glimpse at the spiky chocolate-colored hair to tell who. But she felt him shaking though he was out cold. "Sora, Sora wake up. Tell me if you're okay, please...?"

"Nnn... just five minutes."

"No time."

"You'd want time if your body felt like everything was about to fall off." he muttered, hot breath hitting her neck and making her blush a little.

"And why does it feel like that?" she asked, snuggling up closer.

"Stupid Final Form. I get all this power from nowhere and it uses up so much all to kill and fight. It's exhausting," he breathed, sending shivers down her spine again. Of course, he took a deep breath and managed to get up and go to his own room in the suite.

"_Bow down Kairi. You think Princesses of Heart are all-that but remember the Princesses of Shadow? No? Figures, I'm the only one left in existence!" _

She yawned at those words and fell asleep as Riku slipped her an energy drink.

"_Water is a freeform element. That's why it's associated most often with magic."_

All those words, they had been spoken by someone in the past. She could no longer remember who.

**NSNL Short: (What Happened to Destiny Islands)**

"Aw, they ditched us here and we don't even get a bigger part." Tommy complained.

"Not us, just you. I'm set to be a Princess of Shadow." Amanda said proudly.

"Yeah, yeah. I get to be a Keyblade wielder." Sam rubbed in. "YOU AREN'T ALONE XION!"

"Is that all we gotta say?"

"Yup."

"Bye!"

_**Sorry about the short chapter! When it got to ^^^ **_

_**I felt that it would be a perfect ending to the chapter. Maybe, anyway. So, just wait and see what's in store for Sora, Riku, and Kairi!**_

_**Ven: Hey! What about me!**_

_**Me: Not now, kinda busy here! **_

_**Roxas: I get a cookie now, right? **_

_**Razz: My subatomic cookies? Sure!**_

_**Roxas: Where are they? **_

_**Razz: Right there.**_

_**Roxas: Where?**_

_**FK: Razz, how'd you get in here? **_

_**Razz: I can hack into computers, and you know that.**_


	9. Memories

Kairi woke up in what looked like a cross between a hospital room, and the school nurse. It had the same for white walls, the same sort-of soft white bed, and the same desk with all the potions and things. She saw a moogle hovering close. "Are you feeling ok, kupo?" it asked.

"Um, I guess so..." Kairi said, confused. She couldn't remember why she was here. Whatever it was, she hoped it wasn't something fatal.

"Oh, that's good, kupo. _Someone_ was really worried about you, kupo." Kairi couldn't help but blush. Sora always freaked out at the little things that happened to her. Even when they were kids, he was really protective. She swung her legs over the side and jumped down. Her legs were wobbling at first, but she gradually managed to steadily make it to the door. She bumped into Sora on the way to her room. His face flushed red.

"Uh, hi Kairi. Feeling better?" he asked quickly. Something was on his mind, she could just tell. Intuition? No, just the simplicity of two intertwined hearts.

"Yeah." she replied. He played with his thumbs a little then reached into his pocket, nervously. "Do you keep everything in there?"

He ignored her question and pulled out a smaller version of his crown necklace. The only difference was that the chain was a lot smaller. He put it in her hand and closed her fingers around it. She wanted to know what it was for, but she figured he would tell her. Or maybe he thought that it was pretty obvious. Apparently, the look on her face told him enough. "It's for your Keyblade. I held onto it, after last time." he explained. More memories flashed through her mind.

_"I apologize Kairi, for being so... unkind earlier. It was only because you had your head in the clouds. It's no longer fun and games, you have serious responsibility on your hands. Take this, oh, and don't forget to return here. Sora and Riku will tell you when." the woman said in a more considerate tone of voice. Kairi looked at the crown necklace in her hands. It was so beautiful..._

A slight headache was the only side effect she had. Now that she looked at the necklace, it seemed a bit tarnished. She held it tightly, as more memories rushed in.

_"Hey, what's wrong?" Sora asked, seeming to be his usual self. It disturbed her, how can he be so happy-go-lucky when the world was falling apart? At least, in her eyes, it was. _

_"What's wrong? 'Wrong' is an understatement, you tell me what can describe it!" she remembered saying quite petulantly. He had seemed unfazed, but he was actually startled by the hint of anger beside her annoyance. _

_"Look, I didn't mean to upset you..." _

_"You think I'm upset? I'm more than that!" she retorted. He gasped as she clawed at the chain around her neck. She gagged once and then the chain snapped off. Sora grabbed her arm as she raced to the mouth of the crystal cave and dropped the necklace into the Great Maw. She tore away from him but started falling over the edge. His eyes went wide with horror. He expected some sort of splattering noise but nothing came back except heavy sobbing. That was when he realized it wasn't his own._

She felt more throbbing in her skull, as if her head were ready to split open. Maybe Sora did have a good reason to have her memory erased. But why was it coming back?

_She still felt the tears streaming down her cheeks as he held her. She didn't want to be around him, but her body refused to move. Kairi didn't know what he was thinking, or why he still held her so tightly. They were just friends... right? "Can you let me go, please?" she had asked. _

_"Listen... Kairi, I have to tell you something. I (man this is hard.) don't know how you'll take it, but I love..." he stopped as if it were choking him to say it. "...you, (how cheesy can I be?)" _

The room started to spin, and the colors blurred together into one big blob. She closed her eyes and swayed a little. "M-memo...ries. My memories, they're back... Sora." she whispered before her legs folded underneath her.

He caught her and lifted her back up, but it was barely any use. She was mumbling as her head jerked back and forth with his movements. The moogle shook his head when he saw Sora lay her on the bed in the infirmary. "I think she could use another day or two in here, kupo. Really bad headache. I'm selling some elixirs that may help." it said. Sora knew the moogles did better at synthesizing healing items than healing altogether. Why the Captain gave him moogles, he didn't know, but they might as well be put to good use.

"No thanks, I need to save my munny. Maybe another time." Sora said, but the little ball on the head of the moogle drooped anyways. It flew out of the room. He looked at Kairi, who was curled up on the bed, still unresponsive. He checked her pulse; normal. She was breathing at a steady rate; normal.

Riku, tried desperately to remember her. But all that came to mind was Sora, then Kairi. Oblivion, he needed it more than ever. Somehow, she lived through it. Roxas... was it's wielder.

In a way, she was his first love. It was funny, he barely remembered her, but was falling for her. Love was so new to him, so weird.

_"Riku, it's okay if you forget me. The memories you have will always be inside of you. You just have to look for them." _

He jumped, then realized the voice had spoken from his own head. The voice, though, it sounded so familiar. Could it be?

_"Please Riku, don't stress yourself over me. I'm nothing more than a puppet. If I were ever to leave Sora... he may never wake up. It's for the best of everyone, like you said." _

Roxas on the other hand walked down the hallway trying to find Riku's room. This was going to be Rematch fourty-two. Defeat never settled well with him. He pushed open another random door, only to see Namine sketching out another drawing. He sighed and moved on to the next three doors. He heard shuffling around in one, and summoned Oblivion and Twilight's Escape. He pushed the door open, only to be noticed and tackled by Riku. Yeah, he wanted to find Riku, but he didn't have losing in mind. Oblivion found its way into another pair of hands, as well as Twilight's Escape. Riku plunged the Keyblade into the floor going through Roxas' pants. He watched Riku hold Oblivion, smiling to himself.

"Xion..." Riku murmured. "That's her name. Do you remember? I know I may just be the only who does, but still, she was your best friend. Look inside, what do you see?"

Roxas only saw him and Axel. On the Station Tower, that was it. That was the "icing on the cake" in the Organization. What was Riku talking about? "I see just me and Axel! That's all there ever was, Riku! Get your head on straight, before you talk to me." He pulled Twilight's Escape out of the floor and started to walk away. Oblivion pulled itself away from Riku and reappeared in it's true wielder's hand.

"You really did forget her." Riku said. Roxas heard him, but only quickened his pace.

_I admit it, everyone I know has been a little crazy... even me, but Riku has taken it to a whole new level. Whoever "Xion" was, she must have been an important person to him. Maybe even his first love, even though that seems unlikely. _Roxas thought. The two Keyblades disappeared from his hands as he shoved them into his pockets. Crazy was an understatement of describe the journey they were on. What was the purpose of traveling all this way just to see some supposed Immortal. _It's not any of my business, but what's the big deal? Why does everybody everywhere have to come see Sora. I mean the guy's not a total idiot, he did all that stuff with the Heartless and Nobodies. All he's gotta do is some more stuff like Aqua and Ven said, then he's done. But not for good, I know better than to think that. _

"Hey Roxas! I want to show you something." Namine called, interrupting his thoughts. He hated it when somebody did that, then he'd forget everything and his thought process would slow down even more.

"Huh? Uh, okay." he replied, uneasily. Namine smiled, one of her usual barely-noticable smiles. She ran back into the room she'd been using as a studio, and he followed. She handed him the sketchpad that she'd had ever since his days in the Organization. He flipped it open and found a drawing of Ven, two actually. One of him as he was inside Sora, and the other of what looked to be an armored version of him. _Must be from the older times, before all the monkey business with Xehanort and the Heartless. _

He flipped it to the next page and saw a similar sketch, but this one was of Aqua. She had armor in a different style and a different Keyblade. The drawings were accurate, capturing almost every detail of their bodies. He flipped up to the next page to see a half-complete drawing of a landscape. It was more of a desert, with no life at all. Steep cliffs and deeply carved valleys scarred the area, from the half he could see. Several key-shaped dots made X-shaped formations here and there. "That's not done yet." Namine said, taking her notebook back.

"You know, most of your drawings always have some sort of meaning. Like those two people, I know them. Well, more as acquaintances but you know what I mean. You're lucky to have those powers. It's like mind control or predicting the future. You gotta use it to your advantage, not anybody else's." Roxas told her. He hated remembering how she was everybody's fool. (**A/N: **If you watch the fan-made KH amv's then you might remember the one with Everybody's Fool by Evanescence and all the cutscenes of Namine. You probably don't or never watched it and i'll shut up now and stop ruining the chapter.)

Her eyes widened. It reminded her of how she'd been kidnapped by those three guys and how narrowly she'd escaped. It felt like she was a traitor, a non-being of only darkness. Roxas sensed how she felt, and a heavy silence fell over them. _I feel sorry for him, he has to put up with someone like me. It'd save him a lot of pain in the future if I didn't love him anymore. _she thought. It made her angry, to think of how much love could hurt someone. She couldn't stand to look at him, and be reminded of what could and maybe would happen.

"Roxas..." she started to say, but stopped herself. _There's a time and place for everything. _she said, admonishing herself. He apparently hadn't heard her, for he was still spaced out. A sigh of relief escaped. _Not yet, not now. Maybe I'm just exhausted from working on that drawing, and my brain's fried. Yeah, that's it. A little sleep should set me straight. _

"Hey, Other Lovers! We're here, you know, Port Royal." Riku said through the open doorway. Roxas glared at him.

"Stop calling us, 'Other Lovers'! I hate that name!" Roxas said sounding agitated. A hushed peal of laughter came from the hallway.

"Shut up! They might hear." somebody whispered. It was Kairi, definitely.

"Hey, the Paopu Twins don't get that mad about it, right guys?" Riku asked out into the hallway.

"Come on! He was just about to, Riku!" Sora complained. Roxas stepped out into the hallway only to see Sora holding a camera, poised and ready. "Can't you shut up, and let me get that picture for Lea?" Lea was a boy from Radiant Garden he'd recently met. The boy had heard about Nobodies and wanted to see one for himself.

"Hey, that angry face was just as good. He looks even more stupid than you do!" Riku shot back. Roxas shook his head, it wasn't much of a place to call home and they weren't much to call "friends", but beggars can't be choosers.

"Hey! That's offensive you know," Sora commented, putting emphasis on "offensive"

MEANWHILE...

Aqua sighed. "He's lucky. Even though he's like us with the whole destiny and journeys, he gets to live a normal life in between the lines. Not like us. At all."

"Come on, Aqua. We had our fun right? I can't remember really, it's been that long." Ven added, wearily. He knew that if their memories had been surpressed during some of the big events of the past, there was really no point in saying that, other than to try and lift the negative emotion. _They_ would appear if it was this way for too long.

"What happened to our home?" Aqua asked. Did she forget, like he did?

"The Land of Departure? I think, we should ask... Master Eraqus. I wonder if he's okay."

"Shut up! Don't you get it! We're trapped forever in here, we can't remember anything! Oh my god! I'm going nuts..." she screamed, in a sudden rage. Ven jumped up, even though he was about six inches shorter, and there'd be a slim chance to win. But he felt something overcome him.

"Aqua, are you losing it? I know I am! I mean come on, are we really going to sit here and wait for that lazy Sora? What are you waiting for?" he replied, also shouting. He ran towards the edge of the mural... and jumped.

That was when he realized his actions. _No! I'm going to die, and I'm only twenty-something years old! I'm too young to die!_ he thought. He watched the mural of Sora approach him, and shut his eyes.

"Roxas, what are you wearing? Let me guess; Namine." Sora said turning around. Ven opened his eyes.

"I'm not Roxas. Oh man, this is bad. Really bad!" Ven replied. He was freaking out, Sora was supposed to know, but not now!

"What's bad, Roxas?"

"I'm not Roxas!"

"Until you tell me who you really are, you're Roxas." Sora said, in a matter-of-fact tone.

"You're not supposed to know I exist. But if I must, I'll tell you. I'm Ventus (call me Ven), and I am one of the-" Aqua slammed her hand on top of his mouth.

"Not another word." she told him.

"Hey, I remember you! You came to the islands when I was a kid." Sora recalled. Aqua turned around.

"Uh, you still are a kid." Aqua pointed out. Sora shook his head.

"I'm sixteen! Not a kid."

"Still a kid."

"I'm not a kid anymore!"

"Fine, fine. Have it your way, (not). You're not a kid, but you're younger than me. So technically speaking, you are a kid. Anyway, I have a couple of things to tell you." Aqua said, before Sora could restart the argument.

"I'm listening." Sora replied.

"Number one, the next adventure, journey, whatever-you-call-it, is always harder than the last. So be prepared, always. Number two, don't get too distracted. That means, you'd better have all your fun now, and get it out of your system. Number three, even if you think you're a Keyblade Master, you're not. Not yet, anyways. Number four, don't listen to anything Ven tells you directly. Number five, don't forget anything I've just told you." Ven bit her hand and she pulled back.

"You can cover my mouth, but I'll always have my ears. Sora, I'm going to translate according to the confused yet stupid look on your face. One, be prepared. That means to always get ready and be ready (am I going to fast?) Two, don't get too distracted. Here are some distractions; Kairi, food, tv, you know how it is. But I'm sure as long as you keep your desire under control for those things and others, you'll be fine. Food, tv, Kairi, keep them only on the Gummi Ship. I know, you're probably not very happy about the whole thing with Aqua's advice. So... um, uh... see you never (I hope.)" Ven stuttered. He realized how many murals were inside Sora.

_"Sora. He is the Key That Connects Everything. The chances of there being another like him, are one in a million. Your destiny was always to protect him, to return the favor of him saving you the first time. Sora is our only hope." _

Those words, they had been spoken by someone in the past. He could no longer remember who.

_**Sorry about the short chapter! When it got to ^^^ **_

_**I felt that it would be a perfect ending to the chapter. Maybe, anyway. So, just wait and see what's in store for Sora, Riku, and Kairi!**_

_**Ven: Hey! What about me!**_

_**Me: Not now, kinda busy here!**_

_**Anyway, I've been a really bad author. I forgot the disclaimer. XD**_

_**Disclaimer 1: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts series and had nothing to do with the development or creation of the games. **_

_**Disclaimer 2: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts series and had nothing to do with the development or creation of the games.**_

_**Disclaimer 3: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts series and had nothing to do with the development or creation of the games.**_

_**Disclaimer 4: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts series and had nothing to do with the development or creation of the games.**_

_**Disclaimers 5-9: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts series and had nothing to do with the development or creation of the games.**_

_**I don't own the Kingdom Hearts series and had nothing to do with the development or creation of the games.**_

_**I don't own the Kingdom Hearts series and had nothing to do with the development or creation of the games.**_

_**I don't own the Kingdom Hearts series and had nothing to do with the development or **_

_**creation of the games.**_

_**I don't own the Kingdom Hearts series and had nothing to do with the development or creation of the games.**_

_**Oh and, sorry for wasting two to six minutes of your life, depending on how stupid you are. (no offense intended)**_


	10. The Past in the Present

Kairi's mouth dropped open when she saw her reflection in the pond. A pink lion cub stared back at her with the same blue-violet eyes. Her hair was the same, every strand the way she had left it, but still her appearance was embarrasing. Sora popped up next to her, a few leaves stuck in his hair. She thought he was kinda cute, but then her eyes locked back onto the pond.

His crown necklace remained around his neck, as always, but that was about the only difference between him and her. "Aaah!" Sora shouted as he jumped, and fell into the pond. Riku appeared next to her laughing. He was like them, except with silver fur and his normal silver hair. He pushed her in, and her head disappeared from the surface. There were only a few tiny bubbles that appeared on the rippled surface.

She was sucked into an underwater tunnel, struggling to breathe. The outline of Sora appeared just ahead. Then it was gone. She started to swim, awkwardly because of the four legs, after him, speeding up with the help of the current.

Sora knew Riku wouldn't be coming, because he had teased Sora last time about bringing Kairi there. He pawed the side of the stream, as it entered the cave. He scratched his way up onto the wet rock. He shook himself dry, and started waiting for Kairi. She appeared, only two of her paws visible on the rock. He knew she was still caught underwater, but partially. He softly bit one of her legs, but hard enough to lift her.

"Ow! Why'd you bite me?" she asked, still wet. Water dripped onto the rock, sliding back into the river.

"I didn't bite you, okay well I did, but it was either that, or _that._" he replied gesturing to the opening where the river met with the waterfall halfway down. She lowered her head feeling a little bad, but he did bite her. And it hurt too.

He walked around in small circles, looking for a dry place. He settled down, near Kairi, of course. She invited herself to lay next to him. The calmer water, riled up again. On the other side, Sora recognized Timon and Pumba, some of Simba's old friends. "Whoa! Didn't know you had it in you kid! Ok, well don't blame me for interrupting. So what's your mate's name?" Timon asked.

"Kairi." she said, hoping both of their faces wouldn't be seen in the dim light. She turned her head towards Sora, who was frozen with embarrassment. "What's the rat talking about?" she whispered. He could barely answer.

"In this world... m-mating means h-he thinks w-we're m-married or something like that." he stuttered. She froze, her face blushing a deeper red. They both stared straight-ahead.

"Timon, what's wrong with them? They look kinda-"

"Quiet! They just are a little upset that we interrupted." Timon replied hoarsely.

"No, I mean, just look! They haven't moved an inch since we got here. Did you ever consider that they're a little young for that?"

"Well, now that you mention it..."

While the two of them carried a silent argument, "Let's make a run for it!" he whispered to her. The two inched to the edge of the rock, stopping everytime there was silence. Finally, Sora managed to lower himself in the cold water, and Kairi could follow. The river dumped them over the waterfall and into a shallow lake.

MEANWHILE...

Lumina couldn't help but shed a few tears. She cried for the loss of all those lives, for the world that now seemed like a scattered dream, and for her far-off memories of the days before the Darkness. Jossi's eyes were dry, but inside, she felt the same. She cried one final tear as Kingdom Hearts appeared in the sky. It was nighttime, but the glow lit the deserted land in an eerie blue light.

"I've never felt close to you, Lumina. I thought of you as an obstacle, an enemy, rather. But this world, means as much to me as it does to you. That's what unites us, right?" Jossi asked, turning her head. Lumina had her back to her, for the teardrops she shed were not ones that Jossi should see.

"Right, but Xehanort... he may ruin it all for us. I mean all of us. Sora and his friends, they are the stongest on our side, perhaps one of the only ones on our side, but I can't put much faith in them. Let's face it; the fate of humanity rests on their shoulders. I-I may be the Immortal of Light, but you cna't expect me to be able to support us all! I can barely protect myself from the Darkness overrunning this world.

"Get ahold of yourself, we have to be patient. Think of it, Kairi waited a whole year for Sora. Aqua waited twelve, and we've waited for thousands of years for this day to come. Don't give up now, we need to keep holding on."

"Maybe... you're right. I did give those chains to them, remember? I can't give up, ever! Too much is at stake!" Lumina declared jumping up.

Vanitas watched them, as he gathered the Keyblades of the wielders who fought on their side. Deathly Serenity, Lifeless Mirage, and Twilight's Captivity were the last three. As he lifted Twilight's Captivity from the ground, a voice echoed.

"This is why I was created. This is what I was always made to do. I never needed Sora's memories, I took Ventus' instead. He had so many, I couldn't help myself." she said. She removed the hood of her cloak and her face took upon the appearance of Aqua, but with black hair and smaller features. She slapped his hand off Twilight's Captivity and wielded it herself. A perfect match.

"Who the hell are you supposed to be?" Vanitas asked her, not at all considering being polite enough to hide his agitation.

"Depends who you want to see me as. I have many names. Saix called me 'it', Axel and Roxas and Riku called me 'Xion'... I'd love to go on, but I would call myself how I see myself the Second Keyblade Wielder of Darkness." she said, and Vanitas thought it was quite a clever response. He stuck the other two Keyblades into the small pack and opened a Corridor. She stayed as he stepped inside.

"You coming or what? If you know who you are and I know who you are, then let's go. Master should be pleased."

"With you? Please, I have better things to do. Like, I need to pay Riku a little visit." she said, before disappearing.

_She's not my type, but she is my type at the same time. Oh, I need to find a girlfriend. Besides, I need to stay focused. I have better things to do than daydream about a clever, intelligent, Keyblade-wielding, mysterious, beautiful... snap out of it! _he scolded himself. Xion, or whatever she called herself, was charming him into her web. And only in a few minutes, that had to be a record. Still, he felt himself turn red at the sick little fantasies popping into his head.

(**A/N: **Ok! Vanitas and Riku, both falling for the same girl. Xion and Riku have more history together, but her and Vanitas share the same emotions and lack of independence. Who will get the girl? I personally think Riku, but then again... Back to the chapter! This counts as a meanwhile too.)

Riku gazed her up and down as she stood in front of him. She was so beautiful. "Xion? Is it really... you?" he asked. She sat next to him on the bed.

"Who else? I know I look different, but how long has it been? A year or two? We've all changed." she reminded him.

"Look, there's something I want to say to you. I don't mean to be so sudden..." he broke into a sweat, and lost his nerve. "Nevermind."

She didn't seem to hear him. "So... how's everything been?" she asked, clutching her Keyblade tighter. He shifted nervously.

_How does Sora do it? All he said was "I love you" and blah blah and Kairi's all over him. This has to be karma. _he thought. "Okay. I'm not crazy about it, but it's good to have my life back on track."

"I'm getting there, but I've made so many mistakes..." she rested her head on his shoulder and sighed. "...I don't think I can keep going. But if you really accept me like you did before, then you won't freak out when I tell you, that I'm on the dark side. I'm on the same side as Xehanort and Vanitas." she confessed. He froze, but rested his head on hers. They were in each other's embrace, but Xion still didn't know where she should go. He moved to kiss her cheek, so it wouldn't be too forward, but she turned her head to say something so it was directly on the lips instead. He grew love-starved and pressed harder. She trembled just a little, from her nerves acting up, but he stroked her cheek to relax her. "Riku, I like you... I really do..." she said during the short breaks. "...but this is too soon." she whispered. He couldn't help it, she was so tempting.

"I'm sorry. I just... I've been single my whole life! You know what it's like?"

"Well, yeah. But it doesn't really bother me." she admitted. He still held her close, trying to get as much out of it as he could. She still wanted to take it slow, she and Riku had only been accquaintances, and it just didn't feel right. After all, she didn't really know him.

"So, how did you get out of Sora?" he asked, changing the subject. She felt the mental struggling continue in her mind. She really did like Riku, as a friend, but there were more important things than her inner thoughts and feelings.

"I took someone else's memories. Turns out I didn't need him after all. Anyway, I can't hang around any longer. I have to go back to show myself to Master Xehanort. He was expecting someone like me." She didn't want to leave right away, but finally there was a place for her to maybe call home, one side of her was saying.

Riku looked sadly at the spot where she had been, after the last trace of her disappeared into the Corridor of Darkness. The reason he had falen for her was still unclear, though. He saw the sandy footprints, and lay back down. The ceiling became like a movie screen, only it didn't display movies, it displayed his memories. Good and bad, better and worse, treasured and forgotten.

He started to see that they understood each other, sort of. Both had their times in the dark, both had pushed away their best friends, and both were looking for answers. Maybe she hadn't seen it yet, maybe she thought it was coming on a little too strong. _Yes... that's it. Maybe we should just be friends or something. Not get into anything really really serious. _

Sora hung outside the door, his hand on the knob. He'd heard voices earlier inside, but there were only five of them on the entire ship. Kairi and Namine were in the training room, and Roxas was watching tv in the entertainment room. Maybe Riku had smuggled someone in? No, too out-there. What was going on? He had to know. There weren't too many secrets between them. He pushed open the door, and saw Riku staring up at the ceiling. "Hey, Riku?"

"What?"

"I heard voices in here earlier. Is there anyone besides me, you, Kairi, Roxas, and Namine?" he asked. Riku froze up, and blinked.

"Yeah. But I don't really want to talk about _her._" he replied.

"It's okay, I understand. But I'm just happy you found somebody."

"Oh, and one more thing. How do you do it?"

Sora turned on his way to the door. "Do what?"

"You make girls seem so easy, I get so tongue-tied when I see her. Tell me your wisdom with the opposite sex." Riku said sarcastically. Sora pretended to consider it.

"Take it slow."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean 'take it slow'."

Kairi couldn't help but listen in. She had heard everything, but the voices were muffled. Riku... had he really found someone? It seemed so strange, but at the same time, she felt relieved. The girl may keep him occupied. Her thoughts drifted off to her and Sora.

She snapped out of it when she heard a clicking noise from the door. The unmistakable sound of the doorknob turning. She ran down the hallway, and jumped into a random room. It was when she turned around, she realized whose room it was. Sora's.

Empty potion bottles were in a pile by the door, with the price tags still attached, and a bunch of old items, that were most likely from the worlds he'd seen in the past were scattered on the unmade bed. On the floor, were discarded ice cream sticks, some had "WINNER" written towards the top. In conclusion, it was a really messy room. She heard footsteps coming closer and backed into the closet. It had only big crates and smashed bottles inside. The door flew open.

Sora looked his room over. He found a full potion bottle and looked it over. The label said, "Please Keep Refrigerated. Expiration Date: March 23" He threw it over his shoulder.

"Stop!" he muttered. There was no shattering noise.

As he rummaged through the mess, he felt something vibrating from one of his pockets. Somebody was calling him. He checked the Caller ID and it showed up as Riku's father. He pressed the talk button and waited.

"Hello? Oh good. I've been trying to call my son all day and he's not answering. Where are you?" His voice was being messed up by the long distance.

"In a Gummi Ship in outer space heading to uh... hold on." Sora added, before calling Riku.

"What? What is it, now?" Riku asked sounding agitated.

"Where are we going?"

"Radiant Garden,"

"Riku... I hope you have that two month's payment you owe me. And aren't you two a little bit too old to be playing these games? I mean, NASA wouldn't really let a sixteen year-old and seventeen year-old boys fly their space shuttles and take them to an imaginary planet called 'Radiant Garden'." his dad put in.

The line went dead on Riku's end. "Oh you have _no_ idea."

"If I have no idea then do you?"

"Yes, if you haven't already received the twenty missed calls, then I think you should know that Kairi's been missing for five or six days. And if you must know, she wasn't kidnapped. We have her right here on our Gummi Ship, Highwind. By the way, tell her 'parents' she's fine and that she's going home in fourteen hours."

"Great. Well, I have to go." Sora hung up at those words and put the phone back. He turned and saw Kairi on her way to the door. She paused and stared back at him. He was confused, she was embarrassed.

"Sorry its such a mess." he said, in an attempt to break the awkward silence.

_She broke free of his hold and summoned the Oathkeeper. He backed away as she came closer. She had him cornered. He didn't want to attack her, he didn't want to hurt her. The Keyblade in her hand plunged into his side, going down and making a deep gash. His eyes froze and stared straight ahead. A little bit of bright red blood poured out of the side of his mouth. But he didn't blame her..._

"Am I the one who did that to you?" she asked, in a daze.

"Did what?" He followed her gaze and lifted up his shirt to the wound underneath. "This?"

"Yeah, that."

"No." he lied. It was just a little lie, harmless. His shirt fell back into place. She summoned the Oathkeeper and showed it too him. She pointed to the red spots on the teeth and part of the shaft. "Those were probably there before." he added. It was another lie, but she could easily break down again. They were so close to that day they'd been waiting for. But at the same time, dreaded.

"But-"

"Kairi, it doesn't matter who did what. That's in the past." he told her, ending the discussion. She wanted to say more, but he had a point. She watched him pick up the empty bottles and dump them on the bed. He put the little items from other worlds and stored them in the crates inside his closet. The door opened again, and a Moogle came in.

"I'll get this for you, kupo. Oh yes, these could be recycled. This one is still good." it said picking up an empty potion bottle. It took the popsicle sticks, too. The only thing left was the bottle stuck in mid-air. He caught it when it started to fall. He put it on one of the nightstands and turned back to her.

"So, only two days left. I don't really get what all this is about anyway, but it seems really important to everybody else." he said.

"I feel the same. Except I think I was more dragged into it. Its not everyday that a Princess of Heart is a Keyblade wielder." she pointed out.

"They don't give you a choice really. It just happens." he said. The ship started to rock back and forth, side to side. Kairi was struggling to keep her balance. Sora knew what was happening. Heartless ships were attacking, and the defense grid was taking a while to load. Mean while, the Teeny Ships were firing their small lasers. Riku was swerving the controls to dodge the attacks. Kairi waved her arms out in another attempt to keep from falling over. The gummi swerved dangerously to the left, and Kairi finally lost her balance. She fell onto Sora who tried to catch her at the last minute. But it was too late for either. Both hit their heads on the floor, rendering each unconscious.

Their limp bodies collided with the door, forcing it to open the wrong way. It made a snapping noise as the lock broke. They flew out, and seperated from each other. The rocking stopped when the defense grid was finished loading. The laser squares formed a blanket around the ship, hugging its form tightly.

Riku sat back, but was tired from nerves. He kept hearing those sounds from outside the bridge.

_Thud. Thud. Thud._

The noise was echoing in his mind, as if it were trying to tell him something was wrong. His thoughts led to another uneasy turn.

_Thud. Thud. Thud. _

He flipped on the auto-pilot and ran out into the hallway to see what was going on. He saw Sora on the floor, not too far from where he was standing. His best friend was unconscious and his limbs were twisted in some abnormal positions. Close by, was Kairi. She had her face frozen in an expression of pure surprise. Her body was mostly pressed up against the wall.

He walked over to Sora and moved his arms back the way they were supposed to be. He flipped him back over and moved his legs. Neither responded. A Moogle floated down the hallway in their usual strange way, and stopped. "What happened, kupo?"

"Look, I'm not the best at steering a Gummi Ship. I may just be the worst. This was the result of me steering us through a Gummi Gate." he explained. The Moogle presented him with an ordinary air horn.

"This might work. It has my personal secret recipe; Three Lightning Shards, One Gust Gem, and its been charged with a Level 2 Thunder spell. It can help revive your entire Party, kupo." it said, handing him the red and white Reviver. He shook it, and heard what sounded like static electricity and a low humming noise. He put it by Sora's ear and saw a tiny flash. The low hum started getting louder.

He groaned, and finally opened his eyes. There was a dull, throbbing pain in the back of his head, and his arms and legs felt a little numb. Riku pulled away the Reviver thing. "Next time, I drive." Sora muttered. Riku stood up and walked over to Kairi. He did the same thing to her as he did to Sora. She managed to sit up, but wasn't fully conscious yet.

"Where's... Sora?" she asked softly, her voice arely above a whisper.

"Over there."

She turned her head and saw Sora staring back at her. He was laying on his side, his head turned up. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah. What about-" He was cut off by Riku.

"Ok, everyone's fine. Now like you said, you're the pilot. So get going." he said. Sora struggled to get up, but he somehow managed to start towards the bridge. Riku thought he was moving too slow. The air horn gave him another shock.

Kairi rubbed the back of her head and stood up, long after they were gone. She summoned the Oathkeeper, studying it, as usual. It was really was a wonder, why she had a Keyblade. Since she was on this Gummi Ship, going to the same places they're going, doing the same things they do, she walked over to the training room. She had only proven to be her best when she used Magic. The system had already taught her Fire, Blizzard, Cure, Stop, Gravity, Thunder, and Aero. Roxas was busy stabbing at a test dummy when she came in. Namine was watching him from a corner she had claimed as her own.

"Welcome, what would you like to improve on today?" the system monitor asked in its usual, but creepy, mechanical voice.

"Magic." she replied.

The screen showed her a list of spells, and informed her that they were upgrades. "Fira, Blizzara, Cura, Gravira, Thundara, and Aerora."

She wanted to try the upgrade for the easiest spell she'd learned, which was Fire. The monitor shut itself down and restarted. She tried what she had done last time, with the little pouch the machine had given her. "Fira!"

Nothing happened. She repeated it again. "Fira!" Still, nothing. The test dummy rocked back and forth. She thought it would be as easy as it was last time, but her efforts still went unrewarded.

MEANWHILE...

Xion felt the two sides of her, battling each other, struggling to take over. There were many reasons for her to join Vanitas and Master Xehanort. She just had to find them.

"Well, for once Vanitas has succeeded. He has finally brought me another Keyblade Wielder of Darkness. What is your name?"

"My... name?" She paused to think, her name had been Xion. But would it really suit her now?

"Yes, of course. I can't treat you like those lowlife Silhouettes. You have much more purpose in life, unlike them."

"I... My name... it's Xion." she murmured, still encased by her thoughts.

Xehanort felt something erupt within him. Master Xehanort continued to discuss certain things with the newcomer, as they traveled through the endless grass.

_"So it still exists. No. i, our failed experiment of the Replica Project. I still don't understand it completely. It shouldn't have begun to stem feelings of its own. It has no heart, therefore it has no human emotions. However, I see that I am no longer the Superior among us, so I shall have no say." _

(**A/N: **It's hard to do someone, if you haven't figured it out already I'll give you five minutes.)

(**A/N:** Ok, where was I? Oh yeah, it's hard to do someone like Xemnas. I can't seem to figure out why, but I mean, both him and Master Xehanort have to sound really convincing whenever they speak and their prescence needs to make other characters feel overwhelmed. So I'll try my best.)

Xehanort listened to the voice within him, his steps becoming slower and slower. It kept going on and on about the newcomer, refering to her as "it" or "no. i" constantly. He continued to walk, trying hard to ignore it, but he couldn't help but want to listen, want to understand.

Xion tried hard to keep herself in balance, but the mental struggle continued to grow worse. The words of Master Xehanort became faint, a distant whisper with no wind to carry it along. One side was telling her to leave, to remember Roxas, Axel, and Riku. The other was telling her that this was the only place she belonged, the only place she would be accepted. This mental battle between the different sides to her, was holding her captive. Just like it always had been.

Vanitas lagged behind, feeling confident in his abilities. There were now three out of the seven they needed. It was unclear what Master was after, but his only goal was to please him. The other Keyblades remained idle and stone cold. The corrupted hearts of their wielders were missing. He knew that when a Keyblade was in the Keyblade Graveyard, the heart of that wielder followed, or at least, it was supposed to. "We have to find somewhere safer than here. A more suited area for us to hide out. Vanitas, any ideas?"

The voice belonged to Master, and it was the one thing that crashed his train of thought. The Keyblade Graveyard, was rather deserted. There were certain risks to take, but the path there was hidden, only accessible by Corridor, as far as he knew. Trying to get through by any other means would be pointless. You'd only go around in circles for endless periods of time. Ven and Sora would be searching forever in all the wrong places if they hid there. Of course that wasn't considering the worst case scenario. 


	11. Deceit, or a Simple Misunderstanding?

He had always thought of the weapons' system as a shoot 'em up video game. The only noises he heard were the tapping and clicking noises from the buttons as he rapidly pressed them to destroy any Heartless Ships in the way. He would have enjoyed hearing the multiple explosions which sent the little heart-stealing monsters back to the Darkness they came from. The digital timer in front of him was displaying the remaining time left before they arrived. Twelve hours still had yet to be wasted.

Kairi felt nervous even though they weren't anywhere near Radiant Garden. She stuffed more of her clothes back into the suitcase even though Namine was continually telling her she didn't have to. As she went through her stuff, she found a wrinkled, old, fading photo. She saw two little girls, the older one holding her mother's hand, the other sitting down clutching her stuffed bear smiling brightly. The oldest had deep violet eyes that seemed to be laughing, and her short orange hair provided some contrast. Her forest green spaghetti-strap top and pale yellow shorts kind of complimented her pale skin. Overall, she seemed like a poreclain doll.

The younger girl had unmistakable red hair and the same blue-violet eyes. She recognized the flowery print of the long, simple dress with a shorter apron-like one on top, and the little purple sandals with the daisies sewn into the straps. She studied that little girl in the picture for a long time before her eyes ventured to the people who she guessed had to be the mother and father.

The mother had long hair reaching to the lower half of her back. It was a darker red, with two goldbands wrapped around the shorter lengths of hair in the front. All she wore was a short, plain white dress that went down to her knees. It resembled Namine's in an odd way, but yet it was different. In the picture, she was only smiling a little. Her eyes were a bright violet that seemed to be far off, like she was daydreaming. Her face was more angled down to the children, her two daughters. The man next to her was also looking at the children, his eyes almost dazzled at the sight of them. He smiled vibrantly, making his light blue eyes glow. She noticed most of his blond hair was hidden behind the gold crown resting on his head. It had only one jewel embedded in it, an emerald. He wasn't thin, or fat. He didn't look strong or weak, just in the middle. All he wore were some dressy pants and a fluffy-looking shirt.

Kairi looked the picture over and over, trying to look for some sign that the little girl wasn't her. It just seemed so unreal, like the people were frozen in time. She put the picture back in the suitcase but then more pictures spilled out from under it. She picked it all up and fingered through them. The older girl chasing the little one, laughing as the little girl had her face in a screaming position.

_Kiara chased her with the scary creatures right behind her. Kairi couldn't help but scream, she had to know why her sister was doing this. "Stop!" she shouted at her. Kiara stopped but was still laughing. Her creature friends stopped as if awaiting command. She nodded her head and they rushed forward. Kairi fell before she could utter another word. The creatures started to sink into a black and purple hole under them. She found herself going with them. Her last scream was one that nobody would ever hear. When she opened her eyes again, she was falling. Through the sky, past the clouds, and down to the ocean below. She screamed as the water came closer to her. _

_On the shore was a little boy, about her age._ _His hair was a light brown shade and kind of spiky. Clothing-wise, he wore what looked like a white polo shirt with blue lining, though without the collar present on most polo shirts. He also wore red shorts with a maroon pocket on each leg, as well as brown sandals with yellow straps. He watched the red dot in the sky come closer, at a fast speed. He ran from the shore into the Seaside Shack, hoping to find Riku, but he wasn't in there. The little boy continued to run up the stairs and onto the cliff built into the wall of rock. He saw the unfinished bridge and panicked. He found the rope ladder and slid down back onto the beach. He didn't care if his mother would yell at him when he got home, he just ran through the water. A wave hit him, and pushed him back, but he still managed to scramble up onto the flat piece of rock. He saw the red again, but realized it was a person, a little girl, floating face-down in the water. He rushed even faster to climb up the ladder and onto the island. Her body washed closer to the shore. He looked behind him, ran, but fell headfirst into the water. The girl was right next to him now, and he grabbed her arm, pulling her closer to the shore. The waves helped him along._

Kairi thumbed through the next picture, seeing her and Sora on their first day of kindergarten. Both had nervous smiles on their faces, showing the usual anxiety of the first day of school.

_"W-Who are you... and... where did you come from?" he had asked that day when they first met. He was leaning over her, his blue eyes sparkling with curiosity. She yawned and tried to sit up, but her body wouldn't let her. She turned her head and saw the blurry scenery. All the colors blended together, but she could tell it wasn't home. The air was different, it was salty and the sun was beating down on her face. Where she was before, it was... autumn. The air was cool and refreshing, not like summer, but not like winter either. She kept trying to remember, but the faces and places gave up no names or memories. _

_Riku found his best friend's sword on the beach, and saw him in the distance not to far away. "Hey! Sora!" he shouted, as he ran._

_"Is that your name?" she asked, speaking for the first time. Sora nodded._

_"What's yours?" _

_"Kairi." she replied in a weak voice. A silver haired little boy ran up to them, holding two swords, in one arm. She couldn't get a good look at him because of her blurred vision. _

_"What the..." she heard him say, "Sora! You know the rules. No girls allowed!" _

She smiled to herself, remembering. She found other pictures, of the family who was hers. They seemed to be nice people. All except for that one older girl; Kiara. Kairi never thought of the posibility of having a sister, but the memories and the photo, proved otherwise.

"Hey, come on. Somebody's calling you." Roxas said through the tiny slit in the door. She looked up, releasing her tight grip on the photos. They fell back onto the bed, as she checked her phone. No missed calls.

"No, stupid, I meant outside. It doesn't work that way, not for you." he added. Kairi pulled open the door, and peered outside. Roxas pointed down the hallway, right towards the bridge. An odd place to keep a phone.

_Why not just keep it where all the rooms are, that's alot more convenient._ she thought. Everything seemed the normal strange. Sora flying a hi-tech spacecraft thingy with no special training and/or a licsense. If they had that sort of thing. The communication, weapon, defense, and all the other systems continued to run silently. A Moogle flew back and forth trying to figure out how to sell new items. Just your everyday weirdness. But for all of them, this weirdness was completely normal.

"Seriously, you're joking. You are not coming back with... I won't allow it!" some female voice shouted. She could tell the voice wasn't there in person, but it sounded like a cellphone on speaker.

Sora didn't bother to reply. Kiara, Kairi's sister (apparently), wasn't happy with her sister returning. In fact, she was the one who suggested the memory erasing. He heard footsteps nearby, and muted the World Communication System. "Hey, Kai. Here, your um, sister wants to talk to you." He pressed the talk button. Then turned back to the controls.

"Oh, hello. I just wanted to ask if you were actually planning on returning here." the orange-haired girl on the hologram thing said petulantly. She was at least two years older, maybe even three. Kairi recognized her from the photos as Kiara. Memories started flowing back.

_Sora had nothing to say, but Kairi went on. "How could you? Do you know what she's done? Do you?" He remained still, but only one name came to mind. Lumina. Kairi seemed to be changed when she returned from her own Awakening. Only one possibility._

_He pulled the Oathkeeper out, shutting his eyes and sucking in the pain. He only saw a glimpse of her running back the way they came._

She tried to listen, but it wasn't worth trying.

_"Kairi, let me share a secret with you. We are sisters after all." Kiara had said, but the way she said "sisters" didn't seem right. "I'm not like you. Mom didn't love me as much, she even attempted to give me away. She called me 'evil', 'an offspring of darkness, sent to destroy our light'. There were many others, but I know Dad must be listening in. Anyway, I'm cutting straight to the point. Get out." _

_"What?" Kairi had asked, confusion swirling around in the air around her. _

_"You heard me. I can't have you interfering any longer. So leave, now, or suffer the consequences of your prolonged stay."_

_She remembered not replying, but instead looking out the window. She could see the machines deconstructing the Postern, and the stairs that led to it. The people looked like ants from up there. She watched them run back and forth as chunks of stone, metal, and everything in-between fell into piles were the structure had once stood. She knew Sora was part of the Radiant Garden Restoration Commitee and that he'd be helping out down there. The place would look so-_

_"Well? Are you going to leave here or stay?" Kiara asked while Kairi rubbed her cheek. She didn't want to leave, and she knew she had to stay. What had happened, during those eleven years she was gone?_

The girl on the screen went on and on about reasons to not come back. Sora shook his head, thinking her efforts were useless. He was actually grateful that Lumina had said Kairi had to come back too. He just hoped, that, it wouldn't be like last time.

"Are you listening to me?"

He nudged Kairi, who was still out of it. She shut off the machine, and let out a sigh of relief. "Is she really that annoying?"

"Yeah, but it's even worse in person. So, try to avoid her as much as possible." he advised. More Heartless ships were hit out of sight. His thoughts started to drift off.

_He remembered leaving that house for the last time. It was hard, but they couldn't keep sneaking in whenever they came back to their home world. That house was all that was left of his family. His dad had died when he was twelve, out at sea. His mom, disappeared after the islands were restored. Just how alone could he be? Kairi and Riku, they couldn't quite fill in the empty space. But it wasn't their fault. It wasn't their fault. It wasn't._

He grumbled some gibberish but in his mind he was telling himself, "Why'd you have to think about _them_. They weren't your real parents. You know that, don't you? You let yourself become even more attached by their sudden and untimely deaths." Nothing could make him more upset, than letting himself think about his own set of adoptive parents. The DNA tests proved it. Although they all were brunettes and had blue eyes, they weren't related under any circumstances.

The DNA tests conducted by Cid when Sora needed to be put into the database. Radiant Garden wasn't a small world, but it wasn't big either. Still, it would help to be able to keep track of anyone; including him. It wasn't easy for the people in Radiant Garden to adjust to the chips installed in their heads. It wasn't a joke, Cid invented the chip sent it to the newly-developed hospital. The hospital Sora was helping out in at the time. Some people that came were Heartless victims, so the doctors couldn't figure it out on their own. He was visiting with a newcomer, when he had been pulled into a seperate room and gotten his own chip installed. Then when he had asked Cid about it, the DNA tests were running.

_"Okay, you're here. Now give me something that belonged to your parents." he had demanded. Sora only had his mother's favorite cowrie shell and his dad's rusted old keys to the motor boat. He pulled them both out, and found them gone in an instant. Cid had them underneath another one of his contraptions, but this time, they didn't disentigrate. He saw his mother appear on the screen, rotating, revealing her full body shape. Short, but at a medium size. Not too thin, not too fat. Her usual yellow bandana kept her long chocolate brown hair back and out of her face. Cid typed her in and matched the DNA samples, at least he tried to._

_"DNA match, failed. Please insert correct sample." _

_He grabbed Sora and put his face on the scanner. A red bar of light went up and down along the side of his head._

_"DNA match failed. Please try again and insert correct sample." _

_Cid grumbled something under his breath and tossed back the cowrie shell. This time he put the rusted keys on the scanner and then his dad was pulled up onto the screen. The same thin, and lanky man he had last seen four years ago. His dad had shaved his head until there was barely any traces of the chocolatey brown hair. There was never a time where he didn't where a hat. Baseball caps, straw hats, you named it, he had had it. _

_"DNA match failed. Try again and enter correct sample." _

_"Boy, what is this? What'd you give me? The DNA on here isn't in any way relative to these people." _

If the people he had spent almost his whole life with, weren't his parents, who were his real ones? Kairi was lucky, her parents had been there the whole time, on a nearby world, inviting her back with open arms. He... he was clueless. They were enigmas for him. He knew nothing about them, had no past with them. Frustrated, he plunged his Keyblade into the controls. He did get shocked, as expected, but his focus went right back to blowing up the Heartless ships.

Kairi spun around and saw the Kingdom Key poking out of the controls next to Sora. Was he really angry? He was never like that.

_"You are the fire that feeds Sora's anger..." the blue-haired Nobody had told her. She remembered feeling terrible on the inside, even though she tried to ignore him._

Was the Nobody right? Was Sora angry because of her? She forced herself to keep playing around with the little communication system.

MEANWHILE...

Amia sat on Kiara's bed, listening to her, but with little interest. "...I thought, that, when Sora came to me asking for help and begging me to talk to Kairi, I'd never see or hear from her again. I specifically made arrangements for just that, and-"

"Listen, Kiara. I know you hate your sister, and I know this because she is light, you are darkness. Still, Master had specific instructions for you and what's-his-face to leave her alone. He has to finish working out the kinks in his "big plan". We need to lie low until then. If Kairi remembers anything, it can mean game over for you. If I were you, I'd start packing my bags and getting the hell out of here. I'm serious, Master needs us to act like "good girls" and be normal. Don't try anything, I'm going to start staying here for a bit, so watch yourself. And tell your boyfriend the same."

"He's not my boyfriend! He just follows me everywhere like... like..."

"Like, he could be one of us. Why else would he follow you around and be so overprotective? He may be a Keyblade wielder. I'll have to check with Vanitas. Oh speaking of Vanitas, did you hear about the new girl?" Amia asked. Kiara froze, clutching her tiny necklace with a heart-shaped smoky quartz embedded in it. Every Princess of Naught carried it with her. It kept their darkness contained and protected.

"What new girl? What are you talking about?" Kiara asked, after gently setting the necklace back on her dresser.

"Her name is... Xion. What's weird is that she isn't a Princess. She's a Keyblade wielder. And Master is laying Vanitas off his punishment, you know, for bringing him that fraud Princess. I haven't heard much about her, though."

"That's not normal. But anyway, I'm taking your advice and ditching this place. I don't know where, but someplace better. Maybe I'll go back to the same place I sent Kairi last time. The island place."

"What about your dad? Won't he worry about you?"

"Let him. It's not my problem anymore. Remember, you have no family either. We can't let small emotions get in the way."

"I don't have emotions like you."

"Whatever, and make yourself at home. I know I won't anymore." Kiara added before disappearing into a Corridor of Darkness. At the same time, the necklace also disappeared. Amia couldn't help but smile to herself. Everything was going perfectly. All except for the simple fact of Kairi returning. It would call for the usual-but-complicated, girl-falling-out-of-sky-and-being-attacked-by-Heartless trick. She'd have to alter part of her appearance, summon the correct breed of Heartless, and open a Corridor of Darkness in the sky itself. Most important, was timing. She had to make sure that somebody would be coming when she fell.

She waved her hand in the air, leaving a trail of darkness. She took the same hand and brought it across her eyes. They changed from lime green to hazel. She pushed up the tip of her nose, and smoothed the rest to match. She made her lips a little thicker and her lashes a little longer. She ran her fingers through her hair, changing it from raven black, to a darker shade of blonde. These changes weren't permanent but they would last a while. Some more noises of construction came from the window, and she summoned a Corridor. "It's showtime!" she said as she disappeared through it. Her eyes were closed as she fell down, but the scene was already happening in her head.


	12. Kairi Learns Magic

Kairi jumped when Sora tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey, have you seen the remote to the TV?" he asked.

"It's... o-over there," she said, nervously. If she was the reason he had been angry, she didn't want to intimidate him. He wandered off in the direction she was pointing; leaving her still slumped over the couch. _I'm overreacting. He isn't mad because of me. _she thought. Trying to convince herself wasn't getting rid of the thought itself. It was just burying it underneath others; adding more and more every time.

Namine felt Kairi's anxiety from the other side of the room. She finished up a drawing of the Immortals that Roxas had told her about. He said he had heard about them from a secret source and that she couldn't tell anybody, yet. The story started from the legend that Kairi's grandmother used to tell her as a bedtime story. The one world was destroyed and separated into many different worlds, thanks to the darkness that was being born into people's hearts. But some people retained their light and created a new world, one for only light, not darkness. Those people were the first Keyblade wielders and the first Princesses of Heart. The Immortals watched them from the sky above and were pleased with them. They made the world better than just tents and campfires. They built a castle into the side of a mountain, built houses and schools, they virtually created civilization. Some Immortals devoted themselves to making Keyblades for the people, and the first Keyblade had been the Kingdom Key. Some of the other Immortals didn't like the light, which was around the time when the Keyblade War happened. The Immortals, not only destroyed the world, but all the inhabitants. Twelve of them left the world, into the Realm of Darkness. The other twelve stayed behind and created X-shaped paths for the Keyblades, which still held the hearts of the original wielder. That's where Sora and the others came in. Their goal was to find the remaining four, well their bodies anyway, and bring them back to the few Immortals left. Unfortunately, it took all twelve to finish the job, so the Immortals were powerless at the moment.

She flipped the page up and over. Armed with a silver-colored pencil she drew the crown chain, which Sora wore around his neck. From what she knew, he never took it off. The only reason she was drawing it, was because it had some special feel to it. She filled it in and started drawing Kairi's matching necklace. The two little necklaces were spun around each other, much like the ones who actually wore them. She felt something different as she finished the last details of Kairi's necklace. The picture was incomplete. She sketched out the jagged shape of a heart and drew a thin wire around it. The heart was made of a piece of smoky quartz in her mind. It represented something, but she couldn't tell what. Six others wound around it, all the same shape and size. She continued to draw little symbols and necklaces.

"... and so, the award for Most Hearts in the new smash hit, video game Attack of the Heartless will be given after the break." the guy on the TV said. "Some people are great with video games, others just shouldn't try." was the theme for this year's video game record show. It was the same as last year. The channel that did all the re-runs was the only one available where they were. He yawned and pressed the power button on the remote. That game was so overrated. Why play it, when you can live it? Kairi still was slumped over the couch next to him, barely paying any attention.

"Hey, Kairi... if I'm here, and you're here, and Namine's here, who's driving?" he asked her, trying to sound convincing. She sprung to life and started looking out the little circular holes in the wall, one by one. She let out a sigh, and turned back around. Kairi locked her gaze onto him and closed her eyes.

"You're messing with me again, right? Not much has changed about you." she said, slumping back over the couch.

"I only did that to get you up, if you look back out there... Twilight Town is just up ahead. We had to change course because we got a little message from the King. He just found out about you coming with us, so he thinks we should take you to Yen Sid."

"Who's that?"

"Last time, I was there, I outgrew my own clothes so I got new ones to replace them. He was the one who filled me in about the Nobodies." he said.

"But these fit just fine!" she pointed out, pinching the corners of her pink, strapless mini-dress. It was just the way it needed to be, tight around the waist and hips, kind of snug towards the top...

"It's not that. The King doesn't think those are the right 'traveling clothes'. If you're coming along, you need to be prepared." he explained. He summoned the Kingdom Key, and took off his jacket. He had her hold it up in front of her. He drove the Keyblade through it, pulling it back out quickly.

Before her eyes, the threads on each side of the fabric, shot to the opposite side and fused with the other threads. It was only a few seconds before the hole disappeared completely. "Everything that _was_ weird and potentially impossible is now part of my everyday life. Good for me." she said. Sora put his jacket back on.

"It might be a good idea to get used to it." he replied, avoiding the chance of sarcasm. It was actually true. This was the life they were used to. Any desire to go home may have disappeared completely, only because they knew that it would never happen. Sure, it was negative thinking, but it was also realistic thinking. Kairi started to laugh a little. "I'm serious." he said, before brushing past her and into the confinements of his room.

She bit her lip, wondering. She remembered her letter that she'd sent to him. It was back at the dark beach that Sora and Riku were at before returning to the islands for a month or two. She remembered writing the letter to him, telling him that "starting a new journey may not be so hard, or maybe it's already begun." Is that what he was reflecting back at her? _Was he, trying to tell me something? Maybe what he was saying is that our lives are never-ending journeys. No, that sounds about right, but it can't be it. Oh, I just hate it when he does that. _she thought. Namine walked up behind her, carrying her notebook and pencil.

"Kairi, you shouldn't worry yourself. Think, every thought, every word, every sentence, has a different meaning for everyone. What does 'It might be a good idea to get used to it' mean to you?" she asked, surprising Kairi.

"You are sometimes the most thoughtful person I know. But to me, it means he accepts his life the way it is, and he thinks I should too."

"Precisely; you see, sometimes to find the answer, you must ask the question. It's strange, and doesn't make any sense, but it's true. I think the word to describe it is _eccentric_."

"Namine, when did you get so smart?" Kairi asked.

"In Castle Obl—" Roxas clamped a hand over her mouth and pulled her back into the entertainment room. She struggled up against him, reliving the Sora look-alike kidnapping. It was so strange. The black-haired person who was the spitting image of Sora… she couldn't recall any direct connections or any drawings. She bit down on his hand, soft enough to avoid drawing blood.

"Ow! It's not my fault. Don't you remember?" he asked her, his fists clenched. She knew he was holding back, and she knew just how aggressive he was.

"Yes, I remember. I wasn't going to tell her everything! Just 'Castle Oblivion' and even that's too much for you. Look, I know we swore to Ven and Aqua that we wouldn't meddle but it just came up in conversation." she explained, trying to keep calm and make her voice as steady and consistent as possible. He opened and closed one fist, but his eyes were still irate.

"I don't care. Just… don't say anything to Sora, Riku, Kairi or anybody else. We have to keep this between us right now. Anyway, how do we know that Aqua and Ven told us the right things? They could be on the other side."

"But, they're in Sora's heart. Everything in there is strong and true, including the heart itself and you know that. It doesn't matter about the darkness. I just—nevermind!" she added with haste.

Roxas sat on the couch and pulled his legs up, resting his chin on his knees. "Who cares anyway? You're a witch; erase our memories, if you're so sick of hearing me tell you this. While you're at it, go tell Riku I'll meet him in the Struggle arena when we get there…" he muttered, interrupted by the ship making a messy landing. Right on the beach, where he imagined Hayner, Pence, and Olette enjoying their last few days of summer vacation, the one he'd never have.

Olette jumped up when she saw the giant ship crash land into the powdery sand. Lucky enough, it was Monday, so hardly anybody was there. She kicked Hayner in the ribs, to wake him up, before running to meet them. The side door opened and one by one they all fell out. Sora, Kairi and Riku, then two others she didn't recognize from before. "Worst. Landing. Ever." Sora muttered, his voice muffled by Kairi's hair in his face. She saw Pence coming, (pausing every two steps or so because of the bad sunburn) and helped the pale blonde get up. She seemed to be a very frail girl, speaking in physical stuff. Her facial features were small—petite—would be a better word for it, but her eyes were a little bit bigger than normal. One of those things you never notice and if you do, you forget it, two to three minutes later. She gave a light smile and walked off closer to the water. The perpetual twilight; a truly wonderful thing to newcomers, or people who've been locked in a basement by their father for fifteen years and just came out when he had a stroke and the hospital people came way too late. The dirty blonde boy hopped up next and went off after her. She recognized him—well his face anyway. Pence had introduced him about two years ago, when the kid was with the spiky redhead with the tattoos.

Sora, Riku, and Kairi all got up at once, involving some heads thumping together. Eventually, Riku got his face off of Sora's foot, Kairi freed herself from being sandwiched between the two, and Sora only fell asleep on the ground below him.

It was a weird feeling. Between hospital anesthesia and being post-hangover, it definitely was bizarre. He didn't bother to get up, just rubbed the fine particles of sand underneath and yawned. He would have been and remained satisfied if Riku hadn't grabbed his legs and lifted him up. He started thrashing around, and swinging back and forth. He only got a hit in the side of his best friend's stomach. "Go take Kairi to the tower. Olette, when's the next train?"

"The one that Sora took last time only comes at two-thirty sharp every twelve hours. It's one-twelve so you can head up there. Anyway, who are the new guys?" she asked.

"Oh, they aren't new. Remember the Nobodies?" Sora asked her instead of directly answering.

"Yeah, why?" she wondered.

"That's what they are. Me and Kairi's Nobodies." He said point-blank.

"How and when?" she asked, astonished.

"Let's go, there might be some Heartless business to tend to. Plus I'm hungry." Riku put in, pulling Sora and Kairi along with him. Olette shook her head, and then glanced back at the girl and the boy standing on the beach, closer to the water. It was hard to believe they were Nobodies. She went back over to Hayner and Pence who had given up on coming, and lay back down on her towel.

"So those two finally hooked up?" Hayner asked, staring at the Nobodies, who were apparently arguing about something. The girl folded her arms and turned her back on the boy.

"Yeah, but I still feel bad for Sora. He must be really screwed from when Kairi went insane." Pence said.

"Sora said it was something about some other girl, or her sister. He couldn't tell which." Olette offered.

"I bet you that it's her bitchy sister." Hayner supposed.

"Fine, winner brings all the ice cream for the rest of the summer." Olette declared.

"Deal." Hayner concluded.

As they sat around in the Station, eating some hamburgers that Riku had reluctantly paid for. He was the one who dragged them here, so they figured he should pay for the food. "Usually I hate the food they have here, but I haven't had actual food in one, two, three, four, five, six, two weeks!" Sora said, vigorously devouring the burger. Kairi raised an eyebrow and watched the two destroy their food. Sora kept coughing in-between bites, but they were finished before the train arrived. When it did, she marveled at how outcast it was compared to the other trains. People stared at them as they rushed on-board.

She glanced over at Sora and Riku who were slumped one over the other, asleep. Was this going to be that long of a ride? It'd only been like eight minutes. She peeked out the window and got a fleeting look at the end of the track. She dug her fingernails into the material of the seat, growing nervous. How could those two still be asleep when all this was going to happen; they would fall off of the track, hit the ground, die, and once again, die. She gazed at Sora, mutely wishing he would wake up. At that moment though, something starting twitching in the hood of his jacket. A little cricket poked its head out and scrambled out, standing on his back.

"Sora needs to remember to warn me before he falls asleep. I almost suffocated in there. Oh, hello…" The cricket opened a tiny notebook, flipping through some pages. It looked back up. "Kairi, right? I'm Jiminy Cricket, the royal chronicler. I've traveled with Sora for quite some time, recording everything and everyone. I live in his jacket, most of the time. It gets unbearable sometimes, like when you three were staying at that Gummi Garage, he just won't quit throwing the jacket around. Oh, almost forgot. I updated your profile in my current journal and I need a new picture. I can't use anymore of Sora's lousy candid photos that he—" Kairi felt her face grow hot, and she looked over to Sora. Candid photos? The beach, the pool, at school, the possibilities were endless. She loved him, but candid photos were a serious invasion of privacy. She lifted the little cricket up and out of the way, then grabbed Sora's arm and tugged him until he fell off of the seat. He stirred only a little, and then his breathing steadied again. She kicked him in the ribs, causing him to start moaning out some complaints. He opened his eyes a little and sat up straight.

"What's up?" he asked, sounding oblivious to the anger.

"Candid photos." She said petulantly. His eyes went wide. He started to stutter.

"Look Kairi, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that but it was just for—"

"Let me see them."

"They're not that bad and they're fuzzy as is." He gave them to her, laying the fifteen photographs in her hand. She went over each one carefully. She managed to make out the faint shape of herself in her usual outfit. They had been at the beach that day, showing off their Keyblades to some kids from the local high school. It appeared she was swinging the Oathkeeper around, casting magic spells. Not that bad, but still an invasion of privacy.

The next one was just her on the dock staring out at the sunset. It wasn't fuzzy at all, but she had to admit she looked eminent. A slight smile was on her face, giving her a certain glow. She remembered that moment. It was just after Sora came back from defeating the last of the Organization. He was all patched up, but she had no clue that he kept a camera with him. The picture was one she could imagine him wanting to keep.

She skipped through the other blurry excuses for pictures and dumped them back in his hands. He let out a sigh of relief. "I never said I forgive you, but I can't stay mad at you forever. These aren't even real pictures except for this one. Anyway, I knew you have pictures with you when you leave the islands. Just not these." She checked his pockets and came up empty handed. She laid her head on his chest, whispering, "No more photos, promise."

"Promise." He stroked her hair softly. The relatively short drama session was over and he could sleep tonight. The train entered the portal that connected a gap between time and space to take them to Yen Sid's tower, all in a heartbeat. His body went through all the motions it would have in ten hours. Kairi was going to have a much more difficult time. 

Sora had to carry her up the stairs, while Riku fought off the remainder of the Unversed. On the train, she had refused to get up, begging for a nap. Then they found out she couldn't hold up the fairly-light Oathkeeper, making her a useless deadweight. She wasn't heavy but she wasn't that light either. They reached the first door, and he and Riku switched. Riku swung Kairi over one shoulder and continued up at a steady pace. Sora swung his Keyblade, shaking his head. It wasn't really that fair for Riku to have that kind of advantage, but he noticed often he didn't really use it. He was fast and light with his fighting style. Stumbling forward, he saw Riku stop for a minute, in an almost intimidating way. He shook it off, and ran to catch up. They were almost to the second door, out of seven or eight total.

(**A/N:** I don't know about you, but i think this would be a lot better if I skipped to the last door. Don't you agree?)

Riku let the deadweight of Kairi fall on Sora at the last minute. Both of their arms and shoulders were sore, but they wouldn't admit it. Master Yen Sid sat at his desk as usual, reading the same rather large book. "I see you have brought Kairi, as the King requested." the sorcerer said without looking up. Sora tapped one of her cheeks lightly, shaking her, doing what he could to wake her up.

"No, not like that. Like this." Riku whispered, and took Kairi. He shook her hard, her head jerking back and forth violently, making her eyes snap open. She seemed only half-awake, but Riku pushed her towards Yen Sid either way, stepping back quickly.

"Take her to the three fairies."

Kairi was mostly awake, but she would doze off every now and then. The first outfit she was shown was an everyday black tank top with a matching thigh-length skirt that had two red pockets with a blue X on each one on each side. Her shoes had been replaced by zippered combat boots. She liked it, but she wanted to see what else the three little fairies had in mind.

The next one was a pair of dark blue thigh-length shorts, a horizontally half-blue half-red tee covered by a black mini-jacket. Her combat boots were replaced by a normal pair of white sneakers. It wasn't anything plain, but she still had her eyes on the other outfit. "Well, it is quite hard to think of more outfits for you. Sora, Riku, could you step outside for a minute."

"Sure."

"Whatever." The two backed out quickly, shutting the door behind them. It clicked without a sound. "I thought I saw something on the skylight."

"You sure?"

"Nevermind. Anyway, I heard the whole candid photo business. She only let you off easy since she was tired. Just wait until tomorrow, and if I were you, I'd start writing a will." Riku added. An exaggeration not far from the reality. He wouldn't write a will, but he could easily end up in the infirmary. She and Riku had this weird way of getting back at people, but he couldn't explain it. He remembered the last Facebook incident. Riku caught Kairi on video during the New Year's Party, when she had a little too much to drink. It was a while back, when the three came back for a break.

_Welcome to Facebook!_

_Password: ********_

_(click) _

_(browse) _

_Video posted. _

_Logged out_

He never did really see the video, because Riku deleted it. All he knew was that Riku went missing for three days, and when he came back, he was mute. It took a week or two for him to start talking again, during which, Sora wanted to break his own two legs. Neither Kairi nor Riku spoke of the event from then on. If Kairi got the right amount of sleep, he was done for. The photos were taken only a year or two before. He kept them in a scrapbook. Riku had seen it only once, and that was when the pushing started. Everyday it was, "Did you tell her?" "How about now?" "Call her, do something!" "We're going home early, you better tell her."

That was Riku, the best friend looking out for his best friend.

Kairi came out not too much later, finally settling on an outfit. She was wearing the black tank top and skirt, with the combat boots. He couldn't focus on how she looked with his mind occupied on how the Riku v/s Kairi event would turn out if she did the same to him. Yen Sid waved for them to come back to the desk he was sitting at. There was the usual collection of pastries and baked goods, with the big book open in front of the master sorcerer. He still looked one-hundred years old, and he still wore the star-studded robe and cap. They sat down in the three chairs that had magically appeared in front of the desk. "You have embarked upon two journeys before this. And you each know that each new journey makes the last appear to be "for nothing". This will once again become the case. Sora, you have developed quite the grudge against your enemies. Your friends are not the only reason, now. You have seen what the enemy can do and will do. You find this unacceptable, right?" The sorcerer laid his hands back on the desk, clasped neatly. Sora had recalled him saying this once before, but now that all three were present, he guessed the sorcerer wanted to start over.

"Yeah… I mean, yes." he replied.

"Your sense of justice may just be the cause of you having to leave your home over and over. Then again, it may just not. This is all I am permitted to say to you at the moment." Sora's left ear twitched with interest. Kairi managed to keep from laughing. Somehow she found his twitching amusing. "And Riku, we have not elapsed the dreadful weight of your mistakes upon your own shoulders. However the mistakes have made you stronger, correct?" Yen Sid continued, eyeing Riku carefully. The older teen's eyes were frozen and stone cold. Inside he was reliving everything. It was painful, but he couldn't stop it.

"Yes…" he managed to mumble.

"So Kairi, I supposed Sora has confessed. He can't stand to lie that long, unless perhaps, it was an enemy. You are a Princess of Heart as we all should know by now, and as a Princess, you have a designated world—the world in which you were born. This place is yes, thanks to Sora's unshakable curiosity, Radiant Garden. You must use your power to protect this world and its inhabitants for as long as you live. This is a blood promise you made the day you were born to your parents. Rina, your biological mother and Tatsu, your biological father as you may desire to know. Sora, you may have already discovered that you were born on another world, and I must also tell you the names of your parents. Yuri is your biological mother and Kumo, is your biological father. Both wield Keyblades and they sent you to the Destiny Islands during the second quarter of the Keyblade War. You'll find out what that is later. Your adoptive parents were ordinary people, who had raised you under the belief you were their child. Riku, your parents are your parents and you were born and raised on the Destiny Islands. How you three ended up on the same world growing up, I will tell you after I return." And with that said and done, Master Yen Sid rose and disappeared through a door on the left side of the room. Sora sat back, knocking Kairi's head against the wooden chair. Her head fell onto his lap, making his face flush red. She mumbled something then became a deadweight again.

Here's what she was trying to say: "Don't say anything, I'm tired. Anyway you owe me, so now we're _partially_ even…"

Riku lowered his head and started laughing, but in a quiet kind of way. On the other hand, he was sort of hoping he would end up being adopted so that way he wouldn't have to put up with his dad, who still demanded payment. Then again, he could've just as easily ended up not meeting Sora and Kairi and growing up with them. If he lost those two…

"As I was saying, the Destiny Islands at the time was a protected sanctuary out of all the other worlds. That is the reason your biological parents decided it was best to have you grow up there and away from the rising trouble. However, Kairi, you joined Sora and Riku during the Fall of World Barriers. A Keyblade Master before you had put you under a spell that would protect your light. That is mainly why you were able to use Sora as a vessel when the Destiny Islands fell into darkness. Oh, and the traveling clothes the King requested, you will not be wearing them all the time like Sora and Riku. Your parents have been preparing for you, or rather, your father."

"What do you mean?" Kairi asked, sitting up. Her face was as red, if not redder than, Sora's.

"Your mother hasn't exactly been herself since you first left your original home world. I suppose you could compare her to a flower without water or sunshine. Hardly the apprentice I had taught so many years before. She came to me to cure some of her open curiosity. At the time, they had a scientist maintaining the world with his knowledge on the heart, as well as medicine and science. He ruled the world while your parents came here to learn more for themselves. She was one of the brightest, and certainly her heart was pure, but she was not a Princess of Heart. In fact, she had no royal lineage at all. It was your father's great-great-great-great-great-great-uncle's wife's great-grandfather who had established Radiant Garden from a small village of straw huts to what it is now. If you wish to know more about your family and yourself perhaps, take this book." The sorcerer brought a three-inch thick book from under the desk into Kairi's hands. Its weight knocked the wind out of her. She set it on the floor. "As I have already told you, your parents were Keyblade Masters, however I am not the one to ask of your family history or anything related to that, because I am unfamiliar with it myself and—"

The door flew open and there stood Roxas accompanied by Namine who was slumped over his shoulder. "You… I am going to stab you, revive you, and stab you again. If I don't do that, I'll smother you in your sleep and post it on YouTube." Sora flinched; Roxas was his other half, yes. Was he an exact replica? No, he was way too aggressive for that. And there was no stopping him during his anger. Although, there was the eye of the storm to look forward too. He'd get all down and depressed, then right back to it.

LATER…

"I don't really care, that was a serious invasion of my privacy. Give me the camera."

"But…"

"I said, give it."

"No."

"What?"

"I said 'no'."

"You owe me big-time. So give it or I'll just go on home."

"Which one?" he asked. She had two places to go, the islands or Radiant Garden. He was finally getting closer to his daydreams he had about him and Kairi when they were both fourteen, and her going home was not apart of them. Still, that camera had so many journal photos on it (undeveloped thanks to the lazy bum himself), and how else was he going to show everyone else what lies beyond the sky?

Kairi was ticked off, and she had to have his camera. She knew how he felt about pictures; there was one wall of his room back on the Islands covered in them, but this was going just too far. She didn't want him to get her wrong; she did love him, but she couldn't help but feel that her trust was betrayed. Maybe it was just the lack of sleep making her even more moody than usual. The room lit up, as the ship passed through another barrier zone. She saw the shape of the closet and made her way out. Riku and Roxas ran in opposite directions, and she followed Riku to the bridge. She sat in one of the chairs and faced what the sign said was the Central Destination Mapping System. The "CDMS" was the ship's access to every map of every world, star pattern, zone phase, time change, and real-time distances. It could get them the shortest way to the Islands and if Auto-Pilot was activated, the feature would program the route into it and no more fifty-hour trips. She searched for her home-world, and selected it once a photograph of it appeared. It asked her what area she wanted to land the ship in, and she selected the school. Today was the second week and she would arrive at maybe eight or ten. The device asked in a mechanical voice if she wanted to confirm and she was just about to press it when the door flew open and slammed hard against the metal wall. Some of the bolts snapped and the door began to creak, she rushed to hit the touch screen, but she was tackled before she could feel the cool surface on the tips of her fingers. "Sora! What the hell?" she screamed, squirming underneath his weight.

"Guess again!" the being on top of her said, sitting up.

"Roxas? Where's Sora?"

"Partially traumatized, slapping himself in the closet." The dirty blond Nobody replied, failing the attempt to not laugh out loud.

"Then why did you just tackle me?"

"Namine, who else? And he was too pathetic to stop you. He looked like a lovesick puppy, or a rat without his cheese, a dog without the bone. He had his little fantasy come true and it just popped. It's like that time when I was sent to kill some Heartless by the orphanage in Twilight Town, and some guy drove up with the backseat full of toys, candy, and the works. This little boy runs up to the car and starts clawing at the door and the guy inside is teasing him and asking if the kid doesn't want toys or candy and then he just drove off. Sad, right? Well go take a look at him and you'll see."

So she did. And it was sad and pathetic indeed. His eyes were wide and there was a large red handprint on the side of his face. Sora was shaking badly, and his eyes were dull, lifeless almost. She reached out to touch him, and soon found he had grabbed her and was holding both of her arms tight enough for them to go limp. "Is she gone? She didn't go home, she can't, not yet anyway. Maybe I should've kept it all boxed up like before." he murmured, passing on the shaking to her. She felt heartbroken just looking at him. Could that simple threat have seriously screwed him up that much?

"It's not so much that you threatened to go back to the Destiny Islands, it's just that you were mad at him which freaks him out as is. Trust me; he'll be worse than what you did to me." Riku said, almost reading her thoughts.

"What did I do to you?"

"You made me watch _it_."

"What?"

"I will never speak of it again, _ever_."

"Whatever it was, I won't do it again."

"Chick flick."

"What the hell? How is that as bad as _him_?"

"I was mentally traumatized by it. I don't know how any living creature can stand that."

Sora was laughing all the way down. Ven came shooting down like a bullet after him. He changed the battlefield to a warped purple vortex. He wanted to improve his reaction timing, so he waited for Ven to intercept his attacks. And intercept he did. Sora was sent flying down into the purplish pit of despair when he grabbed Ven's arm at the last open window of opportunity and stepped on his back to launch him up through the zero-G to the mural that Aqua waited on. He threw his arms up in victory and did a funny little dance around someone's head. Aqua didn't seem so keen to join in. "What? Why aren't you happy?"

"Oh its not that I'm not happy, it's just that 'Little Miss Hothead' (as you so kindly called her) is worrying about your 'screwed up' body."

"No! That's not supposed to happen; it never happens!" he said, growing quite embarrassed. His neck turned red, slowly spreading to his face. As Ven turned back up on the mural, Sora ran off, jumping into the vortex thing and finally came to.

"Wasn't his fault… asked him to… can't carry a camera… he can but takes horrible photos that I can't use in my chronicles." he heard Jiminy say.

"Why didn't you say this before?" Kairi asked, with a touch of anger.

"Well, you interrupted me. Sora kept taking photos for me and he was trying really hard to do this one little favor and I didn't want to ruin what he was doing."

"Hate to interrupt but I see you're still here." he finally put in. Kairi whipped around, her mouth hanging open. She started muttering some apologies, to all of which he ignored. "We're here." He said, standing up to his full height. She was just a little shorter than him but he sometimes felt it was the other way around.

"Hey, Leon, Yuffie, and Cloud are waiting for you guys." Aerith told them when they got out to the main hallway. She wore her usual, a carmine pink and white top held up by a string wrapping around her neck, a pink dress with a horizontal line underneath, and another, much longer white dress that peeked out just a little. Her brown boots seemed a little more worn than last time, but other than that she was still the same as before. She motioned for them to follow her out, a gleaming smile on her face. All three of their mouths hung open to which Aerith shut them, saying they might catch a fly. Polished stone served as walkways with smooth, coal black gravel being the street. Each cottage, well what used to be a cottage, no longer had thatched roofs but normal scalloped tiles. They were made of brick and stone. The houses were bigger and expanded into places once deserted and empty. They passed through the Marketplace, which had a variety of shops including Sam's Skate Shop selling skateboards with intricate designs on them. He saw a group of younger boys hovering over the ones with the Heartless and Nobody symbols. Voices were mixed but he caught some comments.

"I heard it attracts them if you ride it around the spot where the Maw was."

"No way, Claymore exterminates them."

"Not just Claymore, stupid. Remember those guys…"

"When are they coming back? We've been having a slow day in our part of the market. All these kids want is weapons, and no synthesized items. The Moogles will leave if we don't sell."

"Sora! Riku! I have a new recipe for you to try. I almost have it perfected." He heard Scrooge shouting above the noise. They had just passed his shop which looked more like a freezer than anything else. The spitting image of Donald (Though Scrooge was older, a scientist, and rich) came closer clutched a purple, circular ice pop with a green swirl in the middle and a diamond-shaped chocolate bar covered in nuts. "I don't have a name for them yet, but… hurry try them!"

Kairi watched Sora take the swirled one and Riku take the chocolate. Sora seemed fine after the first bite, but Riku started choking. Sora stood still, as if he couldn't hear Riku gasping for air. He actually had a dreamy, far-off look in his eyes. "I've got it! I'll call this one erm… Hypno-ice? No, no… that won't work. Hmm… I'll get it later. And this one needs to be redone."

"Don't worry about them, they'll catch up. Curaga!" she said, and Riku finally stopped. She and Kairi continued to walk, passing through a stone archway and into what was obviously a new neighborhood. She led Kairi inside one of the houses, where a blond man leaned against the wall, his blue eyes staring straight ahead. A melancholy air was about this person, but Aerith seemed not to notice. She found herself in front of Cid and a man beside him with medium-short, light brown hair, wearing black gloves, black, zipper-lined shoes, a silver necklace, and a short-sleeved jacket with a white fur collar. "You two remember Kairi?"

"Yeah, Sora wouldn't shut up about her so how can we forget?" Cid replied, typing in computer codes she couldn't comprehend. The man next to him nodded. "Speak of the devil, look what Yuffie dragged in."

"Stupid duck keeps experimenting on him. Just once I'd like to…" said the apparent Yuffie. Sora was half-asleep, being dragged in by the wrist of his left arm.

"Behave." the man by Cid replied. She thought he looked increasingly familiar. If only Sora hadn't wiped her memory clean. Yuffie dropped Sora who only opened his eyes halfway, before closing them again.

Cid stood up and kicked Sora. "Get up, boy!" Yuffie ignored the sight, and pulled out a cloth and a bottle. She started polishing her hefty fuma shuriken. Aerith looked slightly worried, but tried to remain focused. The man next to Cid approached Kairi, leading her over to an elderly man with thin arms and thin legs, as well as very pale skin. His nose was a bit large and he had black eyes; small and close-set with spectacles. He had short, white hair on the sides and back of his head, and a long beard. He wore a plain blue robe and pointed slippers on his feet as well as a droopy pointed hat.

"Ah, yes… you must be Kairi. Yen Sid tells me you are the first of the Keybearers here to have your strengths in magic. I shall teach you all I know. So tell me, what do you already know?" the guy who looked oddly reminiscent of a wizard that you would see in cartoons. She rubbed her wrist for no reason other than to think.

"Fire, Blizzard, Cure, Thunder, Stop, and Gravity." she said still rubbing her wrist.

"Good, that's almost all of the beginner spells. You still must learn Animate, Revive, and Inflate. The intermediate spells will come after you have reached sufficient beginning levels, and then the advanced." The wizard held up an ordinary looking wand with the exception of a tiny bump on one end and tapped it once in the air. The room around them disappeared, replaced by a round sort of room, windowless, with pieces of furniture scattered about. Tattered pink wallpaper lined the walls, with wooden panels on the lower half. The wizard bowed slightly and stepped toward the wall. "This is our old training room… ah, Arthur and I had some swell times in here… anyway, I have trained the few Keybearers that show strength in magic, as well as Sora and Riku. They are working with some of Cid's foul contraptions to teach them spells, but I believe you deserve the traditional training. Now, call out 'Fire' at the stools, 'Blizzard' at the dressers and switch. Keep trying until all of the furniture is gone."

"Uh, okay. It sounds simple enough." she replied.

"Oh it sounds simple, that I know," he paused, "but try putting that into action. You will get nowhere if you do not permit the spell to flow through you. Let fire burn inside you, let ice send chills up your spine, let thunder shock you, let gravity drag you down, let curing heal your open wounds, let stop freeze your time… it's all like that. If you don't unlock yourself, these things can never happen."

Kairi nodded and stared at the furniture. She had strength in magic? Sure, she as a little girl, had fantasies about being a fairy and stuff, but it seemed so unreal. Then she started fantasizing about boys (particularly Sora) and forgot her childish dreams. "Blizzard!" The spell soared in a blue beam of snowflakes and mist but dropped halfway to the nearest dresser. She tried it again, and it only went an inch or so further.

Merlin seemed amused at Kairi's attempts, when Sora popped into the room. He approached calmly, and tapped her lightly on the shoulder. "You're trying too hard. Relax and you'll hit your target."

"How would you know?" she asked, not wanting to be told what she was doing was wrong. Sora couldn't fully smother himself so he wouldn't laugh.

"I've been doing this for almost three years. This is your first time."

"Correction, two years." Merlin said from his spot on the wall.

"That's why I said _almost_ three years." Sora shot back, annoyed. Kairi ignored him and continued to cast the spell, unsuccessfully. She was desperate to prove she wasn't as weak as both Sora and Riku thought she was. Sometimes she wished Yuffie would hit them with her fuma shuriken.

"Kairi, you won't get anywhere if you're so tensed up. Relax."

"I would if you weren't telling me to!"

"Fine, I have to go anyway. Yuffie only gave me five minutes, and then Leon hit her, so she gave me ten. I think they all know about us."

"Well it's not much of a secret, and Riku is a terrible liar, plus he can't keep secrets either… so yeah they definitely know. Well, go!"

"I still have five minutes!"

"I think you two need some time alone, yes?" Merlin said, and then vanished.

"Great, even the old guy knows."

"He's not 'the old guy'. He has a name, it's Merlin."

"Who cares?"

"Would you like it if I called you 'that girl'?"

"That's the best you can do?"

"I don't know!"

"Red."

"Blue."

"Pink."

"Green."

"Black."

"White."

"Since when was this about colors?"

"You started it!"

"No I didn't—oh wait, yes I did."

"Are we talking too much?"

"Yes, and now you only have one minute." She kissed him lightly on the cheek, returning to her magic. He turned her face and stole one on the lips, disappearing like Merlin.

LATER…

Leon pushed Sora through the open door, to the Round Hall and shut the door. It had been set up so that twelve chairs, which Roxas had seen before in a place within the now-destroyed Castle That Never Was. He said it was called "Where Nothing Gathers" and that chairs were set in a certain position, in order from highest rank to lowest so that Roxas always sat across from Xemnas. Everyone from No. 2 to No. 7 sat on the left of Xemnas and No. 8 to 12 on his right. This was set up similarly, Lumina sat in a chair across from where he stood, although its height was alarming. About forty feet off of the floor, her chair was the highest, with Jossi next to her and the wine drinker on her other side. Another goddess on the other side who wore clothing similar to what Jossi always wore; a corset with the straps pulled tightly, and the sleeves more on her arms rather than her shoulders and tight leggings with pointed-toe boots. Her seat was the fourth highest. "Are you familiar with the story of why all of us, including you, are here?"


	13. Kairi's Real Parents

"No." he replied. She seemed to have expected this.

"Master Xehanort was just about to turn nineteen when he was brought as a refugee to our world, and he was one of the best Keybearers in his time. Our world was perfect then, at least from our side it was. But none of us had direct contact with the true world outside our castle. We know that the darkness had already touched Xehanort and he was spreading it to others. Others tried to give the darkness to everyone else, scared and not knowing what it was. It was like fire for them, sure it was beautiful and fascinating, but touch it and you'll be burned. Your mother and father formed a Resistance, with many others to stop this. And thus, the Keyblade War was born. During the second quarter, they had you smuggled with other children out of the world. You were sent to the outlying Destiny Islands, unsuspecting and too simple. Now, Xehanort began to realize his power and tried to hunt down the famed Kingdom Key, but could not find it. He only managed to learn of the evolved form, the X-Blade. There are only two known ways to evolve a Keyblade. You have to either find the required ingredients or complete a special task. This task changes so Xehanort never managed to get it without the required ingredients. This is where these three come into play."

Three people appeared in front of him, Aqua, Ven, and another; a tall young man with brown hair that reached to the base of his neck in the back and was styled into messy, vertical spikes and bangs that framed his face. He had blue eyes and slightly tanned skin. He wore two intersecting straps over his chest, dropping much lower down and almost resembling criss-crossed suspenders. Also unlike Aqua and Ventus, he did not wear a badge (which is gold as opposed to the others' silver) on these straps. Instead, he wore it on his belt. Another part of his outfit was a skintight, black, high-collared shirt. His pants bore a distinct feudal Japanese style; his belt is tied like an obi-sash and he wore hakama (traditional samurai pants distinguished by the large pleats). His hakama were dark grey near the top, with several loops for his belt and two buttons, both of which were undone. The rest of the pants were tan with a small, lighter stripe of tan on the bottom hem. Completing his look was a plain black wristband on his right arm, while his left arm was significantly more armored. "Ventus went through most of his life as a Keybearer under the apprenticeship of Master Xehanort only to be tricked into having his own heart split in two. So now Xehanort has a new apprentice, the dark half of Ventus; Vanitas. He bears a strong resemblance to you except for hair and eye color because you offered to heal Ven just before Vanitas came into being. Aqua visited your second home world, and I am not so sure you will remember her in your memory—"

"I do. She asked me to 'protect Riku if he ever loses his path'."

"Anyway, she has Kairi as her successor and is one of the Keybearers who has strength in magic. Her body is thought to be resting somewhere within this world. The last of the trio is Terra who reminds me greatly of Riku, them both being Wielders of Dawn. The important thing is, you don't need to get into any contact with Vanitas or any of Xehanort's little troops of Silhouettes. Just find the bodies of Ven, Terra, and Aqua then we can move on to Phase Two."

Roxas marveled at the new castle. It had a polished and refined appearance with fountains replacing the old pipes. Namine was sleeping on his shoulder, her light breathing calm and reassuring. Her soft touch, her hushed voice, he couldn't let anything happen to her. She was a cherished jewel, the way Sora treated Kairi, only more protection was involved. He wrapped an arm around her and held her close, giving anyone who passed them on their way up to the castle dirty looks. The only one who returned the look was Leon who despised Nobodies for delaying the restoration of his precious hometown. He stopped giving those looks when Kairi came up to their spot on the Postern. She was the complete self of Namine and of course, Sora wouldn't be so happy if she ran off and complained.

"Hi, Roxas." she whispered, not wanting to wake Namine.

"Hi. You waiting for Sora?" he asked. She blushed and sat down on the edge next to him.

"How'd you know?"

"It's not that you're predictable, it's just that I know you wouldn't climb forty-three flights of stairs to see me. Anyway, he got here about fifteen minutes before you, said something about 'two hours' so I came prepared. I stopped by the Food Court and picked up one of everything that sounded good. What? It's not all for me. Sora gets hungry too. And I think Namine might want some, if Riku is a no-show I get seconds for tomorrow…" He stared at Kairi, whose mouth was still in the shape of an "O" and began to wonder why she kept doing that. He figured that out when Namine fell right through him onto the package that sat in his lap. He finally noticed he was transparent again, and that he was disappearing. "Gotta go; take care of Namine for me."

"…the Kingdom Key you wield right now is not _your_ Keyblade. It belongs to King Mickey if you have not noticed the insignia on the chain, and its name is the Chameleon's Case. It was a treasured Keyblade and is Retired. This is the real Kingdom Key." Lumina took the Chameleon's Case from him and snapped the chain off. She replaced it with another chain. The chain looked just like the necklace he always wore. The Kingdom Key looked like the Chameleon's Case, except for the chain. He took it from her, feeling suddenly imperative. It felt different, and he couldn't really believe that his Keyblade was this one and not the Chameleon's Case. But that did explain some things; the reason he was able to wield so many different Keyblades at once, just by unhooking the little charm at the end, but Lumina had tore off the entire chain and replaced it with a new one. Someone's fist came into contact with the back of his head and he whipped around to return the favor. Roxas.

"Hey, what is it? What do you need?" the Nobody asked, not hiding how annoyed he was.

"It wasn't me, I swear!"

"It was I. You are part of the seven Keybearers of Light and therefore you must be present at all costs. You wield Twilight's Escape and Oblivion. These Keyblades have chosen you as their wielder until death do you part."

"You make it sound like I'm married to those things!" Roxas interrupted, only to be elbowed by Sora.

"I'm only saying that once you and Sora both perish, the Keyblades will pass on to your successors. That is, if you become Keyblade Masters."

"What? I thought I already—" Roxas elbowed him this time to get him to shut up.

"You have yet to finish your Keyblade Mastery Exams. You will take the exam with Riku, Roxas you will take your exam with… we should work on Phase One before anything else. Any questions?"

"Uh, how come you can't do any of this yourself?" Sora asked, without really intending to sound like he wasn't willing to do this.

"It takes all twelve of us to accomplish things such as that. For now, all we can do is open and close portals, craft new Keyblades (I can't guarantee they'll be useful), and of course, hold these Awakenings and such. It's not really an Awakening though, just something to start you on your way." The guy in the lowest seat said to him, in a dismissive tone. Roxas smirked and turned his head towards Sora.

"How come you're so…" Sora couldn't find words to use without offending them.

"He means to say, 'how come you're so freakishly tall? Is that part of being Immortals or what?'" Roxas asked for him. He would have been grateful, if it weren't for the fact he could possibly get his ass kicked.

"Yes its part of being an Immortal. You become easy to distinguish among humans, and have your place among them so to speak. We're more of a legend to those who don't have certain knowledge. And no Sora, you aren't going to die because your Nobody has an inability to silence himself."

"Hey, it's not my fault…"

"I suppose you have been around Axel for some time. I wonder if he'll recognize you." Lumina pondered, enjoying the responses from Roxas. She felt the more humane side of her coming out, but brushed it away and turned serious again.

"Axel… he died! What's that supposed to mean anyway and—and—"

"Calm down, Axel is technically alive. In almost the same sense that you are also alive. His complete self, Lea, lives here now and works for the old duck that runs the ice cream shop. If you're lucky, he'll be on his shift. Saix however is dead as ever. Isa was told to the community to have been injured during construction and taken to another world for examination. I can see that both of you aren't exactly comfortable, so you can leave early."

Kairi hugged him when he emerged from the Corridor, which had been scrubbed clean and now glittered from the effort of the Restoration Committee. He smiled to himself. "You still love me?"

"If I didn't, don't you think I would've dumped you by now?" she replied in a whisper, even after Roxas and Namine had left.

"Maybe. But first I want to hear _you_ say it." He said, sticking to their whispering.

"Say what?" she asked, forgetting that they wanted to keep quiet.

"You know what."

"Oh… okay. I love you."

"Love who?"

"I should slap you, but I won't. I love you, Sora. There, happy?"

"Yeah, and that's not the last time. I'm going to keep checking." he muttered. Their lips were brushing against each other, and he couldn't hold back any longer. He kissed her hard, forgetting how gentle he usually was with her, not that she minded. His hand slid down just a little, to the small of her back. She pulled apart a little, until he gave her some air. "Not here, it's a little too public. Meet me back here tonight at ten. I want to go see my real parents."

"Okay. Roxas is probably trying to find Lea. I'd better go help him. I mean, he already knows who Lea is; he just doesn't put two and two together like he's supposed to." He said in a normal voice. He followed her to the corridor, pointed out a door, then left down the other steps of the Postern. She felt the impulse to turn around, run down the steps after him, and ask him to go with her, but she forced herself to continue.

_This is your problem, not his. __You're starting to get a little too clingy. _She told herself. Rounding a corner, she bumped into a short, rounded woman who looked to be in her late twenties. The woman wore a maid uniform; knee-length black dress that grew tight around the waist and widened towards the bottom with a plain white apron. Her shoes were formal-style and also black, but had tiny slits in them which revealed some of the white of the calf-high stockings she wore. The maid kept her hair pinned up in a bun, and wore no jewelry or makeup. Smudges of dirt could be seen on her cheeks.

"Oh! You- you're the missing child! Oh it's been so long since your parents have last seen you… oh; I must bring you to them at once! Lucky enough, their room is only two floors up."

Yuri sighed and muttered more depressing words under her breath. "I wish… that we hadn't gotten ourselves so involved, it only hurt us more. At least… Aqua was kind enough to save her light. If she couldn't save herself, then why not save someone else as innocent as dear little Kairi? Oh, did you clear out her old room? It's…. too depressing to see all the things… she played with."

Kumo bit his lip and nodded. He wanted to comfort her, but with Kiara having gone off, and Kairi missing somewhere along the stars, he couldn't do it. So here he sat, in a stool by their bed, holding her hand. It was a pathetic sight, but—

"Masters! I—you won't believe this, no not one bit, but Kairi is home sweet home!" The maid had a fervent accent, one that you'd find in people who grew up in the countryside.

"Lies. She can't be—"

"Um, hi?" a voice said from behind the maid. He recognized the sparkling blue and violet eyes anywhere. He ran over and hugged her tightly before tending to his fainted wife.

"Tell me about you, where did you live before here, how did you get here, the works." Kumo asked her.

"I lived on the Destiny Islands, and I got here with Sora and Riku—"

"How do you know those two?"

"We grew up together and it wasn't really me who wanted to come, Sora asked me too."

"You seem to be fond of Sora."

"I am, we've been real close since he gave up his life when my heart was trapped inside his body. Riku had his own problems with the darkness. And we've gotten even closer since he's my boyfriend."

"Boyfriend… wow, you've really grown up. I haven't seen much of him, except for when the Committee sends him over to collect data from that Tron program. I keep inviting Cid to move all his computer supplies into Ansem's old lab, but he refuses. So, I can get your room done in two or three days. I guess you'll have to stay with Sora and Riku until then. Oh, I think your mother is returning to the living."

Roxas hit Sora on the head until he felt himself turn as transparent as the tall, spiky redhead before them. "Axel!"

"Well little buddy, I didn't think you'd ever notice."

"He noticed, just was too stupid to add it up."

Riku had been standing far behind them, but was sneaking away down the stairs. He bumped into a hooded figure and his usual cold, hard glare softened. His eyes always did this when he was alone. "Xion…"

"Riku, listen…. I have to ask you something. And I'm not sure you'll be too happy." she said, pushing his hand away when it reached out to touch her.

"What? I'm listening." he replied.

"I can't control the darkness inside me. It's like I'm split in two, one half wants darkness, the other wants—how did you do it?" she asked.

"I don't really know. I was on the other side with Mickey, I left to go deal with the part of Xehanort's Heartless that was still in me, and woke up in Castle Oblivion. Yeah, I know you were created there. I went through the castle like Sora, and when I got out, DiZ offered to put me in the same kind of machine as Sora. I refused, I helped take care of him, and I met you. I went to help Sora subtly by helping Kairi; she knew who I really was, so I ended up with her and Sora. I guess all that caused me to not belong in the dark anymore. I guess you'll have to accept it and maybe you can control it. Darkness is still in me, but I control it."

"Thanks…" she whispered, leaning against him. "…but I think I should go away for a little while… maybe so I can find a way to control it like you did. I doubt it'll work, because I don't have friends like Sora and Kairi. Well, I did, Roxas and Axel, but I drove them both away. Do you think I'm talking too much?" she asked, the hood still covering all of her face. He pulled it back and nodded. She couldn't help but smiling.

"Is it official?"

"No, too soon. So you won't get very far—" she was cut off by laughing, the same laughing she'd heard during her days of being used by the Organization.

Roxas and Axel, followed by Sora and a confused and frustrated Lea, appeared in the neighborhood where Riku and Xion were. They dashed for an alley between two really tall houses, hidden by garbage cans. Xion peered over the reeking cans and spotted Roxas who turned to face her, a vibrant smile fading into confusion. He sensed her but did not see or hear anything. Axel stopped and turned too, green eyes blazing with curiosity. Roxas turned back at something Axel said, and the transparent Nobodies vanished behind a curb. She felt Riku pull her forward back to where they were. She felt tears fall out of her eyes, and let Riku pull her closer without the usual protest that it "wasn't official yet". He whispered in her ear, "Let it out. You shouldn't keep it all blocked up, it's fine, I don't care. Just let it out."

She did, and was sure his shirt would be stained. She remembered telling Roxas that she would overflow with everything that had happened, and here she was, crying her eyes out. It was comforting; having him hold her, stroke her hair, and especially putting up with someone like herself. She was positive that the tears had stopped and stepped back. "I should get going. I'm going to need a good explanation for Vanitas to explain my absence. I know you won't want me to leave, I can see it in your face, so I'll see you around… seven? I forget how time works on this world."

"It's only three; you have plenty of time to explain to this Vanitas person." Riku replied, walking away. He turned back around once to wave, then sprinted to the Marketplace. She opened a Corridor of Darkness, dodging a blow from the devil World Defense Grid.

"It's about time!" he nearly screamed at her. He pulled his mask—helmet—whatever it was, back on and started for the top of Twilight Town's tower. She choked back tears, and as soon as she did, her dark half took over.

"Sorry, but I don't go anywhere and get there on-time for just anyone. And I'll have you know, I collected some very good info on the 'good guys' but if you don't want to know and get beat by Master, I suggest you drop the attitude." She said coolly. He gazed back with interest, and turned again.

"Okay, then. Why don't _you_ lead the mission? Why don't _you _climb that tower? Why don't _you _search the rest of the town while I sit my sorry ass here for the rest of the day?"

"Watch it. Anyway this puppet doesn't want to do any of those things."

"I can't stand you! Why the hell would Master want _you_ apart of his plan?"

"The Big Bang, idiot. Seven Keyblade Wielders of Light, Seven of Darkness. They've got four, we have two. Do the math."

"Oh…. Not good odds."

"Are you playing stupid just to test me."

"Maybe."

"So you are!"

"When did you decide that?"

"Just now."

"I hate you so much I think the laws of the universe have switched so I…"

"You what?"

"Nothing. It's nothing, let's just go."

"Fine by me."

Kairi couldn't believe she was going to live in a big castle with her two real parents, on an entirely different world. It was wonderful, but Sora's parents weren't here on this world, they were on another one, but they'd let Sora see her and visit this world right? She followed her father up the stairs, to one of the towers. Her room was fairly spacious, but empty. The three walls, one being rounded, were bare but the velvety carpet hadn't been moved. She saw that electric lighting still hung from the ceiling, suspended by two thin wires. To her, they looked like two glow sticks and a sheet of Plexiglas. "Gullwings!" he called out through the only window, which was really wide and took almost half of the space on the rounded wall. Three little fairies, tinier than the ones at Yen Sid's tower, fluttered up to the window and flew in once her father opened a little hole on the wall. They squeezed through and hovered between them, close enough to get a good look at them.

One of them flew away from the others and came closer to study her. "We know you! You—you're Sora's crush aren't you? Oh he never stopped talking about you, well when he did get some free time. Those Unversed, I swear, every day there are more and more. Yen Sid, he still hasn't told Merlin what they are, so we just have to send Sora and Riku out to fight them. Like the Heartless, they only respond to Keyblades. You have one right? Ooh, can I see it?" Kairi could see this one had to be the nice and polite one, because the other two seemed to not notice her. She wore her nutty-brown hair short at the top, had one long ponytail in the back, and kept in place by a tight red band with gold, pink, and white on the ends. A wing-shaped hair clip was also in her hair. Her eyes were colored a bright shade of blue-green. Her clothing was composed of a pair of dark blue shorts under a frilly skirt with tints of blue and her top was a thin blue tank top, covered by another pink tank that was easily exposed by the short, light blue cardigan that was tied with a small blue thread. She had gold bands on her arms where the short-sleeved cardigan ended. Indigo-colored, lace-up boots with subtly pumped heels.

"Yuna! What're you doing? She doesn't have any treasure as far as I can see. Come on, our new Master has something important to say." One of the other fairies said, after spotting Yuna. This fairy wore a tank top with visible shoulder straps, her midriff and navel clearly exposed. She had orange shorts, with the same design as Yuna's skirt, only not as frilly, and a yellow bow on either side. Stockings ended somewhere in her blue boots which became dust-colored past her ankles and a red scarf with tips turning yellow. Kairi noticed the loose ends were flapping slowly like wings. Her eyes were a bright green.

"Rikku, don't be rude! She's a friend of Sora _and_ our new Master's daughter if you would've been listening." Yuna shot back, sounding angry.

"Oh. Well, if Sora knows you're here, he'll be a lot happier and maybe he'll chase us again. Yeah, I always had fun taking his stuff and having him chase me around town."

"Who are you guys?" Kairi asked suddenly.

"We're the Gullwings, your friendly neighborhood something-or-others. We're also friends of Sora, Donald (but he can get annoying), Goofy, Riku, Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, Tifa, and I guess Cloud but he doesn't like it so much when we steal from him." Yuna added, but sounded proud.

"He almost lost me a wing, and I need _two_ to fly." Rikku said.

"Did you two boneheads tell her who we are?" another fairy asked. She wore black boots that were somewhat pirate-style, with black thigh-high stockings. She wore a black tank top with visible shoulder straps, shorts with a red, studded belt, and a vest with silver lining. Bat-like wings protruded out of the vest.

"Paine, no name-calling!" Yuna chastised, only to be stared down by vibrant red eyes. "Anyway, she is a friend of Sora, so be nice."

"I'm not his friend." Kairi muttered, but the Gullwings obviously heard her, for they were already in battle stance. "I'm his girlfriend." The fairies relaxed but they started whispering. Yuna was blushing and giggling, Rikku was sheepishly scratching the back of her head, moving the pilot's goggles around on her blue cap, and Paine was shrugging.

"Really? It's not that much of a surprise, but we didn't know Sora had it in him. I mean sure he can beat one-thousand Heartless and only be a little tired, but I mean _wow_." Yuna said when they broke up from their tight circle.

"Gullwings, I know you hate this kind of job, and you're glad it's really rare, but… would you mind finding something for Kairi to wear other than her traveling clothes?"

"Wait a sec, Sora always wears his whatever-you-want-to-call-them, but she can't?"

"If you want, go get Sora some."

"Ugh, extra work. Throw in some more treasure and you've got a deal." Rikku said.

"Fine." Kairi's father replied.

"Wait, what if he's picky?" Paine asked.

"He's not. Trust me." Kairi assured them. And with that, they vanished after doing what looked to be their trademark pose.

LATER…

"There's no catch right? I'm not even touching them until I know you didn't do something to them." Sora said. Rikku rolled her eyes.

"No, we're getting paid honest treasure for this. Bye!" The Gullwings disappeared, leaving him with just a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. He shifted them from hand to hand, wondering why the three well-paid, part-time something-or-others and full-time thieves would give him—emphasis on _give_—clothes. As far as he was concerned, he didn't need any. He understood maybe if they gave some to a naked person, but as far as he was concerned, he wasn't a person in the nude. Kairi would kill him anyway.

Lea pointed to a pile of boulders in an untouched corner of the Great Maw, and ran towards it. Sora shouted to him to tell Leon if he found anything, and ran in the opposite direction. It was six thirty and he had three and a half hours until he had to meet Kairi. It would take an hour to get across the Maw, another half-hour to get through the crystal cavern, past some other areas, and through town to his and Riku's house. That house was where they stayed whenever they came here. It had a lot of space for their Gummi Ship, and at least enough space inside for them to each have their own room, a kitchen, and a TV. He saw the other side in the distance, and broke into a jog.

Kairi looked at the clothes the Gullwings brought her. They looked exactly like her old clothes that she had worn before Yen Sid's tower. She said this out loud, and the teenybopping trio replied with beaming smiles on their faces.

"They are. We stole 'em from the three fairies at Master Yen Sid's tower. It was real hard though, since they got seven floors of Heartless and such. Nobodies on the last floor so we had a nightmare trying to take down a Dusk. We made so much noise and almost blew our cover. But the fairies thought we needed clothes so Paine had to wear pink until we could find our clothes and Yuna was wearing black and I got lucky, I only had green. Anyway, we got the clothes and rode the train all the way back. Not here, Twilight Town. We stole a bagel for a snack, and poofed right back here." Rikku answered.

"I'm somehow happier. At least something is back to the usual, even though usual is pretty strange—" Kairi was cut off by an ecstatic Yuna.

"Oh that's not all. We have more!" Yuna said, struggling to hold up a silver sleeveless shirt with crossing straps in the back. Paine and Rikku held up blue stonewashed skinny jeans, dropping it into a pile. They showed her a variety of clothes, passing out on the floor after the last was thrown into the growing pile. She caught them before they fell, and held them out to her father. He smiled slightly and ushered the sleeping fairies out to a waiting maid. She gently tucked them into the pockets of her apron and ran off. Kairi rocked back and forth on her heels and gazed around.

"Kiara has been awfully quiet lately. She keeps the door to her room locked and never comes out. I always thought she would want to meet you after all these years." her father said. She almost shook her head, shuddered, and smirked with disgust, but she stopped herself in time. She had just met her birth parents and didn't want to make a bad impression by giving out hints that she despised her sister. Namine was nodding slightly behind her, and Kairi wondered what her parents would say about her. Sure her Nobody was on their side, but she was very sensitive at times, and even fragile if you wanted to call it that. Even Roxas was very protective and looked like he would jump you if you got any closer than you were supposed to. Namine's expression turned somewhat troubled, and Kairi remembered the ability Nobodies had to read their complete self's mind. She stepped to the side, thinking,

_I might as well… he's my dad, oh it feels weird calling him that. Okay, Namine, don't be surprised at anything._ Her Nobody looked more or less than unconcerned with the reaction. It had been twelve times that people had gaped at her, after finding out who she was. Sora, Riku (once and only once), Yuffie, Aerith, and a couple of Kairi's friends who were in on everything. Once he did turn around, after looking out the window and commenting on the view. He jumped at the sight of a new guest who had seemingly entered the room in silence. She stepped forward, and looked back towards Kairi who urged her to go.

"My name… it's Namine. I'm Kairi's Nobody." she said quite flatly. Her father still didn't move to show emotion.

"How?" And that was all he ever asked.

"Well, our island was invaded by darkness when I was fourteen. I had no darkness in my heart, so I couldn't become a Heartless. Instead I chose a body as a vessel, and that just so happened to be Sora. He stabbed himself with some special Keyblade and turned himself into a Heartless, which meant my heart was free. Since we both lost hearts, we both have Nobodies." Kairi answered.

"That's not exactly right for me. I was made from Sora, _and_ you." Namine added softly, so only Kairi could hear. Kairi whipped around, with that kind of, "You did _not_ just say that" look on her face. Namine seemed to gain interest in a single speck of dust on the window and concentrated on that. Kairi still stared, as if she couldn't put the pieces into alignment.

"What, did she say?" her father asked in a quiet voice. He had a fire burning inside him, hate, like most of the other residents of Radiant Garden. More so than they hated Heartless, despite the fact it was Heartless who tarnished their lovely world. The only one who was neutral in feelings to the creatures was his mother-in-law. Oh yes, he remembered that Kairi would walk along the streets of town with her grandmother, to the library. In the section where they kept fairytales and children's books, that's where children from the neighborhoods nearby would come to listen to old fables and legends. Kairi loved the legend about the light and the darkness, but she favored plenty of others too. Like how the world was all nothingness before, and not even Nobodies would wander through this nothingness.

_It was neither darkness nor light, but nothing. Then something happened. From the nothingness, the first sign of darkness and the first sign of light appeared. Trying to exist in nonexistence was no easy accomplishment, but in time, light prevailed. The tiny speck grew until it formed a heart. The heart needed a body, so it had remained stationary in the nothingness. Light grew more and more, and soon enough, the first bits and pieces of a body appeared. As light grew, so did the pieces, until they fit together to make a body for the heart. That was the first human. It was a woman, and not long after, there was a man. But they could only speak a handful of words. _

_The woman would point to herself and say, "Human." _

_The man would point to himself, mimicking her, and say, "Human." _

_As the light grew and more hearts appeared, they tried to make a word for the hearts. "Not human." was what the woman would say. They pondered over what to call the hearts, and did not notice the grass growing under their feet. A world had appeared. They stood in the grassy field, and finally became aware. "Heart?" she had said, not meaning to name the hearts, but naming the grass instead. The man tried out the name, seeming to like it. So another word was learned. But what they didn't notice was that they were two of five others who were all bigger than the other humans.__ More and more the population grew. Years passed and other humans died, their light being added to make new hearts. Soon, they discovered that the other humans were dying after a while, and yet, they weren't. No longer would the first man and first woman point to themselves and say "Human." _

_Abnormal things happened. One was able to make water from nowhere, could make anything randomly combust, and do all kinds of strange things. And the woman found, that she could make more light, and that, without knowing it, she had been creating all along. They formed a group of these supernatural humans and dubbed themselves "Immortals"_

"She said that… nevermind, it's not at all important." Kairi said after a moment of silence. She shifted her feet nervously, and shared a few thoughts with Namine.

Sora tossed around a Burning Shard, careful not to cut himself. Moogles flew in and out of the fireplace, another thing to classify as strange. They were all busy making items to sell to the shops in the Marketplace, which was the way of the Moogle System. He picked up a ring, and slipped it on. It was a strength ring, so it would boost up his attack power, lower his magic a little, and slightly raise defense.

Riku showed Xion some of the interesting parts of the town. "That over there, the really tall thing, is Claymore's database. It has a record of all Heartless and Nobodies. That's why you don't see that many."

"Wow, then what are Keyblades supposed to do?"

"It only can protect some parts of town. Others still have swarms."

"Your side sounds better and better." she muttered, and he barely heard her.

"Still, just let things happen. If your side loses, they lose. If we lose, well, we lose. There's nothing to do, but sit back and watch."

"I wonder what he'd think." She hadn't intended to say it out loud, but she couldn't take it back now.

"Who's he?" he said with a twinge of jealousy. He'd never felt like this with any girl.

"Nobody."

"Nobody _is_ somebody."

"It's not important."

"What's his name?"

"Will you stop it with the questions?"

"Not until you tell me what his name is."

"Vanitas. That's his name."

"What does he look like?"

"Riku… I'm warning you."

"Tell me."

"Sora. He looks like Sora except black hair and yellow eyes. And he's older; at least that's what he says."

"Weird. Is he like… how do I say this without offending you… is he like you?"

"Didn't say."

"Ok, where is he?"

"Riku!"

"Kidding, kidding. You take it so serious sometimes."

"That's because you can control your darkness and I can't!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean—"

"Forget it, just… what's the point?"

"Point is, just let things happen. You're too stressed for your own good. Remember the Islands? Weren't they peaceful? Didn't it help you just get away from it all? That's what you need. A vacation."

"Won't work." she said.

"Yes it will."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"If I give you what you've been asking for, since two days ago, will you please just admit it won't work?"

"Maybe. You'll have to take the risk."

"I'll take the risk. There isn't much to lose." she said. Her sad eyes looked up to his. Never before had he needed to work hard to get the girl. Usually, they couldn't wait. She looked so innocent, but was it just a ruse?

She waited but nothing came. "It won't work."

"What? Huh?" she asked, looking back up.

"I said, 'It won't work.' Are you deaf or something?"

"Oh."

Awkward silence followed, and both were screaming in their heads, but very different things.

_What the hell? I thought he wanted it soo badly and now that I willingly give it, he slaps me in the face by saying 'It won't work.' _Xion was thinking.

_This is _not_ fair. Sora got Kairi in like two days, what does he have that I don't? Why is she so complicated? _Riku was also thinking.

So while they screamed, they didn't notice Roxas and Axel standing behind them with very odd expressions. Roxas was smiling—something he hadn't done for some time—and Axel was feeling frustrated and a touch angry. Xion was first to notice and let out mix between a "Hi!" and "Ah!" which is very weird if you didn't know that already. She had forgotten her appearance was the same as it had been so long ago. Aqua's memories had done nothing to change it.

Roxas felt similar. It was rushing back fast, the good and bad. Axel felt it too, and dragged him away, hoping that he wouldn't see. "Axel, no!" He pulled away and continued to gape at the girl in black. What was Riku doing with her, was she being lured into one of his traps? "X-Xion! I-I thought you were dead. What happened, and Riku, what are you… Oh my god, this is confusing! WHAT IS GOING ON!"

"Hey, calm down. Let's go and test more ice cream, before that grump finds somebody else." Axel said, trying to pull Roxas away._ What am I supposed to do? Namine was always best at calming him down. _

"Listen…"

"No, you listen. How could you let everyone think that you were dead or whatever you were? We're your _friends_ and you let us forget about you. You let us think that you were dead and gone and—and—"

Xion was fuming. Did he really think that she _wanted _to leave her two best friends in the world? Well, she didn't. She did it because it was for the best. For the "greater good" and whatever else there is to name it. "And nothing. I did what I did because I had to do it. It wasn't for me. It was for you, Axel, Sora, Kairi, Riku, and everybody else. I wasn't supposed to exist, I never was meant to be, and you made one of the biggest mistakes of your _life_ by being even one bit nice to me. I had no purpose and it was never there until you showed up."

More silence.


	14. Two Enemies, One Ally

"So, have you met Kiara yet? I hope not, she was very unpleasant this past week. I think it's because I gave up trying to teach her French. Really hopeless when it comes to foreign things."

"Foreign things?" Kairi asked her mother. Her mother nodded.

"Of course. When I was younger and independent, I used to travel the worlds with my Master and learn so many new things. He said that 'my type' should know as much as possible. Magic is more complex than you would think it to be. I had to learn languages like French, Russian, and Munchkin—don't look at me like that, it's serious!" she insisted when Kairi had let herself get amused.

"Tell me about magic. Please?"

"Since you said 'please' I'll tell you even if I was already sworn into secrecy." Quickly she pulled a lavender book out of a drawer and opened it. The pages flipped endlessly, and when they stopped, Kairi felt like she was being squeezed really hard and got a feeling of suffocating. As quickly as it had come, it was gone. She found herself in a completely different place. It looked like one of the fancy dining halls and it was a big, wide area. Her mom stood only a few feet away, but looked to be on the verge of collapsing.

(**A.N.** Sorry got a little writer's block.)

Sora felt funny. The funny feeling was what got him to stop, get up, walk out, go to one neighborhood in particular, stop again, and watch Riku and some other person facing off against Roxas and Axel. Riku wasn't really saying much, but it was obviously the person—a girl—causing most of the trouble. He'd step in to break it up, but Axel was giving the "death stare" his way. So he stood still, watched, and tried to picture an alternate reality. A normal imagination only went so far, so he wasn't watching Riku buying ice cream for Axel and Roxas, or the other way around. The girl hadn't disappeared, and the funny feeling was still there. So much for that idea.

She was short, deathly pale, and had black hair. She wore an Organization cloak, with the boots too. Her Keyblade was outstretched; a white grip that darkened to blue, switched to yellow and back, then continued as a darkening purple. He couldn't help but focusing on her face. Where had he seen it before? Quickly, Axel had both knocked out, and in Riku's care. Sora still didn't move, as if they had frozen him to the spot. His eyes were shut, as if the rule "hear no evil, see no evil" would help him. Sad enough, it was true. Riku was defending someone in an _Organization_ cloak, from a double agent and his own Nobody. When the feeling was gone, he turned and ran out of sight. The Marketplace clock said it was nine fifty nine. He dashed for the marble postern stairs, and ran up as fast as his legs could carry him. Kairi was already there, after he turned up, panting, from climbing forty-three flights of stairs.

"My house n-now. Riku's still out and we c-could always use m-my room." he told her. She smiled slightly, and let him lead the way. "Good thing I have long legs." he said when they reached his front door. He sifted through his pockets for the keys, and opened the door to a roomy living room/kitchen. Two doors branched off. "That one on the right is my room, left is Riku." When they were inside, Kairi walked around and asked him a question.

"Where were we?" she asked. He started kissing her softly, like he normally did, and pushed her back onto the bed. She didn't fight back for control, and just let him take off the shorts, and the tank top. She slipped her boots off herself, while he took off his shoes and his jacket. Then he took off his pants and lay beside her. Skin on skin, it felt good. He draped an arm across her waist and closed his eyes feeling peaceful.

"Hey, Sora? Where are you, Cid wants the rent again. Oh and we're out of milk." Riku shouted. "Sora?" When he opened the door, he covered his eyes and screamed.

Kairi screamed and covered herself, and Sora sat up saying, "Um, its a little thing called, 'knock before you enter' so bye. Come on! When _you_ get a girlfriend, you'll know how it feels. And don't ask me perverted questions about virginity and stuff."

"Huh. Well, if you could go and buy milk and pay the rent, maybe we wouldn't have this problem!"

"Just get out, will you?"

"What if I don't want to?"

"Fine by me." Sora said and pulled Kairi closer. They started making out, and Riku finally left them alone. Kairi was already in Sora's lap, blushing very violently. "Come on, he's gone. We're all alone, and I think there won't be anymore intruders."

"Are you sure?"

"Come on, it's been a long day for both of us. Relax" he said, with his breathing heating up her face. It had all happened so fast. One moment, she had been on the beach waiting for him to come back, and now…

"Hey Sora?" she asked.

"What?" She pointed to the bandages on his side and most of his torso. "Oh. What about it?"

"When are you going to go see someone about that? It doesn't look too good."

"It's healing, besides, Aerith hasn't opened up the hospital yet, and the Moogles need time to make more potions."

"How many potions have you been taking?"

"Lost count."

Kairi didn't say anything. How much longer until Aerith opened the hospital? What if it got worse instead of better?

"Kai?"

"What is it?"

"Stop worrying about me. You should be worrying more about your training."

"Oh, and I found something out."

"What?"

"The magic ability runs in my mom's side of the family."

"Oh."

It was weird to feel how cold the room was on one side, then feel how warm he was. "Why is it so cold?"

"It's not cold."

"Yes it is."

"No it's not."

"Yes it is."

"No it's not." He insisted sitting up. She shivered at the contrast.

"Yes it is."

"No it's not. I sleep in here every day." he said. Arguing wasn't on his list of favorite things to do, and he was glad that it was over.

Riku on the other hand, was tending to Xion and keeping a close eye on Roxas. He could hear every word of the argument next door, and shook his head. They were arguing about really stupid stuff now. She was really stressed, and he could tell. She only talked in her sleep when she was troubled. ("Go… I can't… you…"), but Roxas was calm and quiet for once. He started shaking Roxas until he was up, but nothing happened. Riku stood up, and walked over to the door. He scribbled a note ("Stay put, ignore Sora and Kairi.")

Xion woke up, right when he'd left the room. Roxas was nearby, but unconscious, so she relaxed. Two people in the other room were trying to argue silently, but it wasn't working out. She tried to move, but when she did, she got a headache that felt like someone had stabbed her with a Keyblade and left it there. So she just lay there silently, staring at the bed in the corner like it was actually interesting. She had a note in her hand but had to move to read it. She felt the pain again. After a while, she tried to move again, but the pain came back and made her scream.

Sora and Kairi froze. They scrambled for their clothes and when they were dressed, they went outside to see what was going on. Nothing out of the ordinary was in the living room, except for the pale, black-haired girl struggling to pull herself along on the floor. She stopped and collapsed. Kairi tried to pull the hood of the Organization cloak up, but the girl clung to it tightly. "Are you hurt?" Kairi asked. The girl didn't reply. When they managed to get the hood off, there wasn't any mark except for a tiny scar that was shaped into roman numerals, XIV. When the girl moved again, it was to attack Sora.

"This is all… your… fault. If you didn't exist…." she said, with obvious anger in her voice. Kairi summoned Oathkeeper when the girl summoned her own Keyblade. Kairi held it inches away from her face, but the girl didn't even flinch. "If you think you can take me, after all the strength I sapped from your memories, you'll be very disappointed. Did you ever wonder why Roxas only wields one Keyblade, or why none of your drive forms have been active?"

"What? They've been active, see?" he said, holding up the watch that displayed how much power he could use to cast magic, how much health he had, his strength and defense levels, and his drive gauge. The gauge was down to zero. "Well, Roxas can still dual-wield." He tried to have Roxas take over, but nothing happened, just Twilight's Escape appeared.

"That's because of my existence. If I weren't here, you'd be a lot better off. I don't care what Master Xehanort thinks. You'll die now, and at my hands!" she declared, swinging at Sora. Kairi tried to stop her, but Sora pushed her out of the way. He used his old Key Switch ability, but she dodged it with ease. "I've been inside your head. I know that trick, and you can't—" the Kingdom Key came back around for a second time, and she hastily dodged it so it wouldn't knock her own Keyblade out of her hand.

"Who are you…?" he asked, lunging at her again.

"I'm one from the dark…" she replied, and darkness soon surrounded her. It started covering the walls, and the floors.

"Kairi, go outside and just uh… I don't know just go outside." he said finally, when it threatened her.

"Why?"

"If anything happened to you, I'd never forgive myself. Go outside, okay?" he asked. She hesitated, then ran for the door. Soon the inside of the house was gone. They were in nothing but darkness.

"It's just you and me now. You have no other choice but to fight me. Don't hold back and I won't either." she said before sending the Keyblade up into the air. She whipped around in a circle, sending it at him. He jumped out of the way, and came in for close-range. He slammed the Kingdom Key down hard onto her Keyblade when it reappeared in his hand. He used a combo move, something Roxas had taught him, and jumped as high as possible before bringing the Keyblade down. She dodged it, so he held it by his left side and swung it around to his right. She got hit, and he moved closer in, waiting for an attack. When it came, he jumped again, sending him into the air. He used the Aerial Spin ability again, and succeeded in hurting her. She doubled over, clutching her own Keyblade.

"The number on your neck, fourteen, were you an actual member? Secret-boss class or something?"

"Hardly, and quit stalling. I was already gone by the time you came around." she muttered, pushing herself onto her feet. "Let's get back to business."

Just as she was about to land a surprise attack, a voice rang out from behind the barrier. "Stop, Xion." it said, sounding calm, even though the fight was causing an intense air. Sora turned to see an old man, bald except for thin eyebrows and a curled, silver goatee. He had pointed ears and yellow eyes, which revealed no emotion other than a cold, hard glare. The man wore clothes similar to what Ansem the Seeker of Darkness had worn before Sora defeated him. A white and black cloak with a red, inner lining, a white shirt with two thin, black belts, white gloves and calf-length black boots. The edges of the cloak had black lining. "I don't think I had made myself clear enough the first time I told you that the Keyblade wielders are _not_ to be harmed. I will need you to do away with the last one, Terra-Xehanort. I will find other bodies to take up his task."

"I understood you perfectly clear Master. But if you had taken some time to hear my own story, then you would know that my one and only enemy is _him_." Xion said, aiming her Keyblade in Sora's direction.

"And you do not think that he is _my _enemy as well? That you are the only one who has felt the urge to kill? There will be no fighting between either of you." the old man said to her. He waved his hand once or twice in the air, and ice crystals began to form on the edge of her cloak. They grew and more formed. She found herself unable to move when they reached her arms. Soon she was encased entirely in ice, and her Keyblade fell from her grip. It disappeared into the darkness itself. The barrier disappeared and so did Xion. The man turned to Sora. "The key that connects everything… we'll see. Yes, we will see."

Kairi nearly suffocated him in a hug, when he emerged from the house. He was silent for a while after, and he only spoke when Kairi asked him what had happened. "I've seen the even-darker side. I'm not sure anymore, I'm just not sure." he added.

"Kairi told me who you were fighting." Riku said, in a quieter voice than usual.

"Yeah…"

"She wasn't like that around me; just she kind of… uh… lost it when Roxas and Axel started remembering. She's like me after Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness, possessed me. Only worse." It was the first time he'd ever spoken about that.

"What happened to Roxas, and what about Namine?" Sora asked, changing the subject.

"Namine's in the Awakening. Roxas—"

"Again, one of these days I will smother all of you in your sleep. You all just left me there to drown in darkness!" Roxas complained, after appearing in the doorway. Namine ran out of Kairi and suffocated him in the same hug that nearly killed Sora.

"Yeah, yeah. You say that every time we leave you somewhere, and you never do it. I mean, you did stab Kairi once for not telling you where we went, and Sora messed you up for it but other than that, you never do anything."

"He stabbed me?"

"Yeah, and I broke _both _legs and ditched him in the Great Maw. Try dragging yourself five miles home." Sora said, actually sounding proud. Then he went back to being troubled, and when they went back inside his room, he just sat on the bed and fell back.

"Is anything wrong?" Kairi asked.

"Yeah. Master Xehanort is more powerful than I thought. He froze her in ice crystals, and made her disappear, so he's really good with magic, but I'm just an amateur. If he can fight with a Keyblade too, the odds won't be good at all. I need to go back, to see Lumina. I have to know more, I just have to." he said. She sat down next to him.

"You're not the only one. I'm sure a lot of us want to know more. I want to know what else I can do, Roxas wants to know when they sell sukiyaki at the Japanese shop, and Namine wants to know if there is a way to search a castle that the Organization wanted to search. I know that my parents are trying to find out how they can rebuild the Radiant Guard. I guess they don't know if people can handle keeping Heartless out without a Keyblade."

"Did they try the skateboard? Roxas taught me how, and if you get good enough, Heartless won't see it coming. Anyway, I'll go see Lumina before Riku goes tomorrow."

"No. Just go, I'll stay here."

"Thanks, Kai. I don't deserve somebody like you." he said when he got up.

Lumina was sifting through Ansem's old study. She started writing a report of her own, when Sora appeared in the door looking tired. "Come back already? That was quick."

"Xehanort, I want to know more about him. I know he looks like an old man, but he froze her in ice."

"I knew you'd come around to asking this, but not so soon. Xehanort was an apprentice of mine. I taught him what I knew, and shared innermost secrets, my biggest mistake. He got into contact with other Immortals, who convinced him to go to the dark side. He went astray and wreaked havoc among the worlds. He can use magic, strength, and defense to utmost advantage Sora so heed my words. You must train until your body gives out on you. Telekinesis, you need. But you will also need your friends to help you, because this is something you cannot do alone. Kairi's magic is going to help you, as will Riku's defense. Aqua can assist you as well as Terra and Ventus. You all need to be prepared, for the fate of the worlds is on the line. Do you understand me?"

Sora nodded with determination.

"Good. Jossi, Rehn! Come here please!" Lumina said. "Rehn's the Immortal of war, battle, combat, whatever you want to tag it."

"What is it now?" Jossi asked.

"Reporting for contractual obligation!" Rehn said, sounding just as determined as he was.

"Tell Sora all you know about strength Rehn. Jossi, tell him about forging and creation."

"Well, as the Immortal of war and stuff, you have to be quick to respond. Your Sonic Blade ability, that's something you have to think out. It's all about your strategy and your level of attack. You're level something. So try to dual wield and use Sonic Blade when I hit you. My guard is down because I think you're weak. Ready, aim; hit me with all you got!" Rehn ordered, after hitting him with the Chameleon's Case. He succeeded in dual-wielding an unknown Keyblade and the Kingdom Key, then used his Sonic Blade. She fell back, but got up instantly. "See? You have to sacrifice some health to defeat tough enemies. I'm telling you this because Xehanort has an army of Silhouettes and quite a few apprentices like Vanitas, and someone else but we never identified them. Anyway, strength is all about the attacks. Defense, if you watch your Nobody and Riku, is usually quick and centers around keeping yourself alive while defeating an opponent. Kairi, I know you've been watching her, uses magic to defend _and_ attack. You'll need the rest of the seven Keyblade wielders to help you. Ventus is hidden somewhere within Castle Oblivion, as Aqua told us before she went after Terra whose heart is in the Lingering Sentiment and needs to be put inside his body which is in possession of Master Xehanort."

"Yes, and if we can get it back, Xehanort will have to scar his own army for another body to possess. The most likely one will be an apprentice, Vanitas, or maybe even a Silhouette. They are the closest relative of Nobodies, but the hearts have been collapsed or taken. A perfect form, but a severe impact to the army like I keep saying. So if we can get you to a higher level, then you and Riku and Kairi can all go to fetch the body. Hopefully, Xehanort won't destroy that after removing his heart from the body." Lumina added, in a softer tone.

"So, I don't have to fight him anytime soon?" Sora risked asking.

'That's the plan for now. We all know you'll have to fight him sometime, but not now. The most important thing is for you to find the other three. Now it's my turn. The Kingdom Key was the first and so far most powerful beginning form. It was made with now-extinct material that you can find only in the Realm of Light and the Realm of Darkness. The grip and handle were formed from things that you find in Gummi Ships. It evolves, by the wielder reaching their maximum level or taking a heart of light and a heart of darkness and putting them together, into the legendary X-Blade. You should think of yourself as lucky that it chose you to wield it. Remember, Keyblades don't actually choose their own master. We give them a specific list of qualities to look for in a wielder, and they choose from there. Apparently, the Kingdom Key believes that you will be able to wield the X-Blade and use it for the right reasons. I remember crafting both the Kingdom Key and the X-Blade. It made creating worlds seem like nothing." Jossi said, sounding like she was still dreaming.

"And what about everyone else, what are they going to do?" he asked after watching the three women. If they were three of twenty four, then it meant that maybe there were nine others.

"Yuffie and Leon will follow you as backup, Cid and Merlin will stay on this world to keep you guys' health and Kairi's—what are they called again… oh right, magic power—up. Aerith will wait in her soon-to-be-open hospital to check you over when you come back. We'll be up here with Terra's heart to perform the ritual." Rehn answered.

"She just calls it that. It's really just balancing the light and darkness within the heart and putting it back into the body." Lumina explained. She stood up, at her unbelievable seven/eight-feet height, and opened one of the portals. "We all need to show you something." Jossi and Rehn disappeared into the portal, and Sora reluctantly followed.

Kairi was watching the TV when the news broadcast interrupted the reality show. "Finally," said an average looking man in his late twenties, "the new elementary, middle, and high schools have opened after their construction was finished two months ago. We have local group, the Gullwings, giving us a view of the elementary school."

Yuna, Rikku, and Paine were fighting over the microphone, but stopped when the camera switched to them. Yuna decided to speak first. "Well, it's really big, but then again we're tiny so… "

"Okay! It's white and is built into the Great Maw, but is close to the town. Didn't you say we'd be building there soon? Planting grass, making lakes, ah sounds good."

"Gimme that, Rikku! Anyway, we see some human kids going inside but the amateur guards… are they taking lessons from Seifer? Oh, well the kids seem to be very excited that their home is going to normal. Back to you, oh and you owe us treasure." Paine finished, flying out of view. Rikku followed and so did Yuna. Kairi turned it off when Namine came back with Roxas tailing her.

"Hey, where'd Sora go?" Roxas asked, in a calmed voice. Even unusual as it was, Kairi replied without saying anything rude.

"He left."

"Left where?"

"I told you, he left."

"Where?"

"Somewhere."

"I mean, exactly where did he go?"

"I said he left. I don't know where he is."

"Kairi… just tell him where Sora went." Namine pleaded.

"He went to go see Lumina and ask some questions about ten-fifteen minutes ago." Kairi finally said. Roxas seemed satisfied enough and kissed Namine on the cheek before he left. Kairi made a tiny noise, not out of disgust but because Riku was making too much noise and interrupting her thoughts.

"What? We have to put up with you making out with Sora every day. Can't you guys keep off each other for five seconds?" he asked, from the door. He slammed it behind him, leaving them in near-darkness except for the lamppost on the stone street outside.

"Try to ignore him, please. He's been so… so…."

"Angry? Violent? Mentally disturbed?" Kairi suggested. Namine shrugged.

"Yes, maybe, and that last one, no. Xion was never supposed to come back but I suppose that the way the Organization had her designed, she wasn't just able to feed off of Sora's memories but everyone's memories." she said.

Riku heard them mention her and looked again at his previously trashed room. In his anger, he'd torn everything apart eventually going into the stage of remorse where he just sat there and stared into space, imagining how it could've been. She was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen, and for him, that was saying something. He'd seen a lot of girls in his life and none had been like Xion. She understood some of how he felt, she didn't mind if he'd turned on his best friend and given in to the darkness. The only thing was, she only wanted to be friends. Sora had been through this before, but it felt weird asking him. He and Kairi had been instant hits together. But no, Xion wanted to make him work for it. He'd have to start at the friend stage, and the only expert was Sora.

_I should just quit. There are other fish in the sea, right? That's what my dad kept telling me after breakups. Somehow, it feels like she was just a dream. Maybe that's all it ever was. A dream, a real sweet dream, _he thought, laughing silently at himself. No matter how hard he tried, she was always on his mind.

"Riku! Can you stop that?" Kairi asked, sticking her head through the door when he threw another dart at the old dartboard from his room on the islands and it fell off the wall with the force of his throw. It had been of the few items not destroyed among the rubble.

"What? Why?" he asked, turning over.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, stepping inside and closing the door behind her.

"Yeah. It's not something you'll want to hear about though." he replied in a voice barely above a whisper.

"I can take it."

"That's what you and Sora always say."

"Well it's true!"

"Okay, I'll tell you, but you won't like it. You remember that girl Sora was fighting with right?"

"Yep."

"I used to… um…" he tried to say. Something didn't want him to tell her but another part did. "We were friends." he said, managing an even voice.

"How could you be friends with anyone like her?"

"She understands me more than anyone else. And she doesn't care." he added. She just didn't care, and he needed that. Someone who didn't care if he had given into the darkness, if he wouldn't let the past go, if he couldn't stand seeing darkness or hearing about it made him cringe.

He wanted to give her everything, and secretly wished she'd come back but nobody knew if his wish would come true. Riku couldn't stand knowing that this "Vanitas" person had her. He knew now, that if you don't show someone just how much you loved them, when they were gone, you got your payback. He'd never said it to her face, but the way he'd given her the hints, she probably thought he only wanted a short little fling.

MEANWHILE…

Xion watched as Vanitas struggled to push the boulder over the cave opening. They hid the body in there, figuring it would decay eventually. But she had stayed behind and used a power she'd learned from memories. She had poured fifteen memories into the body, keeping it alive, but comatose. Riku, she did have some feelings for him but wasn't sure of their nature, would appreciate the help and maybe he'd forgive her for attacking his best friend. Master Xehanort had thawed her out just an hour or two ago, and she'd had more than enough time to think.

"Hey! Help me out, would you?" Vanitas asked, sounding his usual cold self.

"Fine, but did you ever try this? Aerora! Gravira!" she said, casting weak spells at the boulder. It lifted into the air only one foot, and slammed down in front of the entrance.

"That helped."

"I don't need your sarcasm." Xion fired back, but he looked hurt.

"It wasn't sarcasm. I mean, it really helped, thanks." he said. His own nature caused him to be unable to feel anything, even though he should. So when he tried to thank her for helping, it sounding like his usual rude remark. When he'd seen a girl confess her love to another boy and the boy refused, he asked Master about it. _"Heed my words. You are a creature who will only feel what the girl had felt. Shame and remorse. She felt something they call 'love' and the boy denied her. Vanitas, you can't feel 'love' so if you don't lose any, you'll never find any."_ And Vanitas had taken that to mean he'd never make friends, or have anyone besides himself. He sometimes gave no care for Master, but other times, he was someone who at least could be around him. Xion was the only other one, and she accepted him like no other had. He was a friend to her, as well as a rival.

Xion shrugged, it didn't matter her reaction, so she wouldn't react at all. With her energy so drained, she couldn't do anything. It was a huge sacrifice to make for Riku, but she knew in what would've been her heart that it was the right thing to do.

Kiara, still in her cloak, watched from the base of the mountain. Her unruly orange hair moved only a little with the wind. She whipped around and saw three Immortals. She remembered them from her grandmother's stories. Behind the three, emerged Sora. He had an unusually serious expression, and summoned his Keyblade when he caught sight of her. She grew envious. Her sister had a Keyblade, and so did the rest of her family. She summoned her only weapon. It was a staff, about four feet long, with a blue "eye" on the side halfway up. Intricate designs had been painted on it, and they depicted darkness overcoming light. Sora had summoned the Kingdom Key, and this time it was the real one. She tried not to gape at it, but failed for a few moments.

"Has Kairi regained her sanity? If she has, I'm sure she'll remember who caused it all. And I'd love to take credit, but Master was the one who made my plans reality." she said, spinning the staff around before aiming it at Lumina. Master had always told her that the only Immortals worth keeping alive were the other twelve hidden safely in the Realm of Darkness. She'd only seen them in the flesh once, and that was for her apprenticeship.

Darkness started to come towards them from the tip of her staff. Sora stood still, now knowing that it wasn't Lumina who'd done it all to Kairi, but Kiara. They were sisters, but enemies for some reason. A beam of light shot out of his Keyblade involuntarily. It touched a covered cave and collapsed what was protecting it.

Xion turned halfway down the mountain to see the boulder rolling towards them. Vanitas was in the way, so she pulled him away but never—never expected him to kiss her full on the lips. She knew it was wrong, so wrong, but before she could resist, he pulled away. She was blushing, giving her own pale face color. "Listen, I—"

"Not now," he said, returning back to normal. He had been turning a little red, but only because he thought he should. The same thing had happened when he kissed her, thinking it was what someone with positive human emotions would do. "He's here. On this world. I know, since my other half's heart is here and those two merged a long time ago."

Sora froze when he saw the body crash in front of him.

"Huh. So they only removed the heart. This guy's still alive, but by… memories only." Lumina informed him. Rehn started dragging the body, while Jossi made a barrier around them. Kiara started screaming at them.

"You have no clue do you? Kairi ruined my life, but Master Xehanort, he told me to get my shit back together and I did. I'm a Princess of Naught, and the legend always says that the Naught beats the Heart any day! I will kill you, I will kill her, and every last being of light there is!"

"You wish. You've been blinded Kiara, I'll only say that. You have family and people who care about you. Somewhere in your dark little heart, you have a light. It may be weak, but light is light. And if you keep going down this path, that light is going to go out. Then where will you go?" Sora said, when the barrier faded. Lumina kept trying to get him to move, but he stayed put.

"I'll stay with Master of course." Kiara said.

Jossi obviously wanted to pitch in and so did Rehn. "Xehanort is cold, pure darkness I tell you. We were the ones who taught him everything. We were the ones who took him off of a, no offense Sora, backwater world to teach him everything. He was our prized student before the war. And you know what he did? He turned on us, he turned on everyone and everything that used to be his whole world. He doesn't care about anyone or anything but himself."

"I taught him how to battle. I gave him what he uses now. And everyone of our kind taught him. So if you want to stay with a _traitor_ and risk becoming a prisoner of war for nothing, fine by me. Just know that he doesn't know or see it all." Rehn concluded. They got ready to leave, and Sora counted to three.

"Wait! If what you say is true, break the charm. Nobody knows how, so it's been said to be impossible."

"Sure, but we can take you out of the darkness, but we can't take the darkness out of you. It means you'll still be a Princess of Naught, but you'll be freed from the doctrine." Lumina said, before grabbing the heart-shaped charm and snapping it in half. After, the charm perished into dust which was enclosed in a pouch and given to Jossi.

"Come on, we'll see if what you said was true." Jossi offered, and they all vanished through the portal.

Kairi stumbled back when Kiara came in. Namine instinctively ran for Roxas, who summoned the Keyblade. They all relaxed a little when Sora followed. Kiara's hands were bound with a cord that would only break if Lumina told it to. "Kairi, I see you and Namine have been doing fine." she said in a strained voice.

"Yeah… Sora, what did you do?" she asked when they were fully inside, and she spotted the body being dragged in.

"We've won this battle, but it's not the end. And we won it only because of the Keyblade." he answered. "Kiara's come to 'make amends with the ones who gave her false reason to turn to darkness' as Lumina said."

"No. I came to talk with my parents, and I don't understand why you'd bring me here."

"You know what you did to Kairi, and you set me up to… to… nevermind." he retorted.

"Oh. I guess I should be sorry, but I want to see our parents first. What? Fine. Kairi, I'm sorry about driving you insane with that spell I learned, and Sora I'm…. sorry for setting you up. Happy?" she asked.

"Yes!" everyone said at the same time. Kiara seemed surprised, but she did feel better. The cords around her wrists loosened up.

"How can we trust her?"

"I never said we did. Lumina only wants for her to make up with everyone before it's too late. Hey, don't look at me like that Kai, she said she was sorry." he said, before leaving again. When he was gone, Kairi walked calmly into his room, and sat on the bed. She wondered how it would've been if things were… different. Riku came in, and sat next to her.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just confused."

"I'm sure the Immortals can clear all this up in two days—whoa, it's already midnight! That means the marketplace is shut down, so they'll be open." he said, after looking at the digital clock on the wall.

"What's open? I might need something to do."

"The Moogle Testing Facility. Everyone who knows about it calls it MTF." he told her.

She stood up and followed him out the door, through the small and empty plaza, and into a side entrance of the Marketplace. All the shops were closed, except for the snack shop and what she guessed was the MTF. People were all lined up by a tiny door in an alley, which made a gush a wind shoot out whenever it was opened.

Sora led her into the main hall, where the maid showed them to Kairi's parents' room. They were horrified to see Sora bringing in their daughter with her hands bound. "She just has a few things to say before we'll take her back to where she wants to be, with her master."

"Mom, Dad, the master Sora just mentioned is Master Xehanort." she said, not surprised at their shocked faces. Her mom looked ready to fall to pieces. "Darkness gave me something you never could. Why did you always ignore me, but gave Kairi everything? That's why, when I got the fancy letter telling me I was a Princess of Naught, I just ran off. I can't believe you bought the story of having a Keyblade."

"Kiara, I don't know what to say to you, but we love you and Kairi both. It was just that Kairi was getting ready to leave for magic training and we wanted to give her good memories of us."

"Time to go." Jossi said, from behind Sora. She took Kiara from him, and disappeared. It was an awkward moment, but before he turned to leave, Kairi's mom spoke again. "If she's with Master Xehanort, how could you get her to come here?"

"Persuasive skills. Lumina, Jossi, and Rehn pitched in." he answered.

"Let me see your Keyblade." Kairi's father ordered. Sora summoned the Kingdom Key and gave it to him. "Looks like you're the one. Don't go power-crazy like Xehanort did. It resulted in his own destruction."

"I know. But he's alive now. And we have Terra—that's his name right?—we have his body back. Lumina plans to put the heart in tomorrow. So it's a plus one for both sides." he said before taking back the Keyblade and leaving.

"He seems like a nice boy." Yuri said when he was gone.

"I guess." Kumo replied.

"Is this about him being with Kairi again?"

"Sorry, it's instinctive."

"Well, cut it out. They grew up together, so I'm sure he won't let anything happen to her. And unlike you, she confided some things to me."

"Like what?"

"He used the Keyblade of People's Hearts to free her heart from inside him while taking _his own life_. Did you not hear or witness the Battle of 1,000 Heartless? He wanted to find his friends desperately, but the people in the Committee are his friends too, so he helped out before taking on the entire Organization to rescue Kairi and destroy the false Kingdom Hearts. He's a nice boy no matter what your 'instincts' say."

"Please don't lecture me to death. I know you had fun with magic but stop getting so serious. That's my job."

MEANWHILE…

Tareq watched the constructions on the new trains begin. His memories had slowly been coming back. How he and Atsuki had met…

_He opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was a bright blue sky with the sun shining brightly. He sat up, and saw a field of flowers surrounding him in a sea of pink and purple. A fourteen year-old girl with greenish eyes and long, light brown hair that was put in seven braids around her head. She smiled at him and helped him stand. "Who are you?" she had asked. _

"_I don't know."_

"_Well, what's your name?"_

"_Um, Tareq, I think." _

"_You think or you know?"_

"_Can you stop with the questions? Who are you?" _

"_Me? I'm Atsuki and I live in the little village over there."_

"_Atsuki. It sounds like a nice name." he said. Tareq had decided that the best thing to do would be to go to the village and see if anything jogged his memory. _

Their first adventure…

_After resting for a while in the inn, he and Atsuki had set out to look in the town square. A boy older than him, seventeen, jumped out at him and started to attack. He tried to fight back, but the boy had all his spots covered well. She had tried to make the two stop fighting, but at the sound of her voice, the boy had run away. He ran after him, but Atsuki stopped him. _

"_Let's see if we find anything in Raba. It's the next village and it's by the Sea of Redemption."_

_Tareq agreed and they set out. Halfway through the six-mile journey, a little thing stopped them. It was only two feet tall, but looked like a mad scientist had mashed a bunch of forest animals together. When the animal had nearly taken a chunk out of his leg, she pulled him away after a lecture about science from the Royal Scientist of the Meridian. They could see the village up against the horizon, but no Sea of Redemption. _

The events that occurred in the Marsh Squalor

_The lanterns went out, and the two of them were trapped in the marshes of the Forgotten Forest with nothing but each other and a pile of adventuring supplies. Inhuman groans were emitting from the thick, murky water. Atsuki shrieked and curled up into a little ball. Tareq felt like doing that but his angst would only increase. What was he supposed to do with his best friend scared of anything that twitched in the marsh?_

"_T-Tareq? You still there?" she finally asked him, lifting her head up. _

"_Yeah, and I always will be. I'll never, ever let anything happen to you." he said. _

"_That promise is so empty, I actually feel a little better." she whispered._

_Both were silent for a while, and Tareq remembered feeling her inch closer, and wrapping her in a tight hug. Her lips brushed up against his cheek…_

He erased the thought from his mind, and remembered the morning after.

_The sun finally shone again, and they woke up. They were side by side on the grass. Nothing much had happened to them except for a little dirt and grime, but other than that, they were fine. He remembered that they had become close friends after that. _

Atsuki joined him on the grass outside his house. She'd been over to help him pack his stuff up so he could move into the Keyblade Mastery building across the way. "Tareq? Are you feeling alright?" she asked.

"Yeah, Atsuki, I'm fine. Just a little nervous that I'm going to be teaching _him_." he replied, referring to Sora. He had gotten the news from Yen Sid a few days ago, and was psyched about meeting who everyone had been calling "the chosen one" but most commonly by the ones who had superiority, "The Key That Connects Everything".

"So? It's okay. You're just going to teach him what you know, then if all goes as planned, he'll go on to the unnamed world that Master Yen Sid refused to tell us about."

"I know, I know. Just, I never got the memories back and with what everyone's been saying, I think he might be able to help."

"Oh, will you drop it? You have plenty of memories with our adventures on Mirian and the memories of all your friends and such. Look at the sky. None of those stars are alone. And neither are you."

"Ah, you got me." he said, brushing back some of her hair that had come loose from the braid.


	15. Fight for Ven

Kairi woke up to see Sora already awake, which was strange, but strange was actually normal. He was trying to spike his hair up, which naturally spiked on its own. "What are you doing?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Master Tareq sent me a message through Tron and he told me that hair can be used as a backup weapon."

"And you listened to him?"

"He's a Keyblade Master, he knows what he's talking about."

"I know that." she said, putting on her clothes. Once she was dressed, he went out to the Marketplace saying he had to go shop. Namine stepped out from her, and shut the door behind him and locked it.

"Kairi, that girl… her name was Xion. I know you don't like her but it's not her fault. It's like Riku with the darkness. But if you still haven't neutralized your feelings then you won't care that she's gone."

"What do you mean, 'gone'?"

"I mean she's gone! Her memories were emptied and without any memories to feed off of, she can't live. And the only way for her to be restored to the way she was is for her to have some of Sora's memories."

"Why is that so important?" Kairi asked while brushing her hair.

"I'll go get Riku and he'll tell you."

Riku seemed uneasy when he came in. "Why do you want me to tell her?"

"Xion's gone. Her memories ran out, leaked, I don't know. She has no memories, just a form with no life whatsoever."

"Okay, fine. Look Kairi, I don't want you to get mad at me, or think that I'm going against you and Sora but… me and Xion… we had something. You know, more than just friends but not quite like you and Sora."

She didn't speak. Riku and the girl who intended to kill Sora…

"So, are we getting the memories or not?" Namine asked. She glared at her. "It won't kill him, okay? It'll just be temporary. We'll take the least important memories and put them in Xion."

"You don't have to do that…" 

"Oh come on Riku. You finally find somebody who lasts more than three hours, we're not going to let anything ruin it for you."

"Why?"

"You've done way too much for us (not killing me when DiZ told you to, saving Kairi, helping Sora wake up), so now it's our turn to do something for you."

"I don't mean to hurt anybody, but when are you getting the memories? I have to leave in a little bit."

"I can get them right now, but it'll take a while to search all his memories."

Kairi still had a bad feeling about it, even though she wanted to help Riku. Namine started sketching once he had left. She flipped through countless drawings of Sora, Roxas, and others who were hard to recognize upside down. "Can you use memories like… uh…"

"Listen Kairi, the only way for Xion to go back to normal, is for her to have some of Sora's memories of _you_. I'm looking for the least important ones, so I can take them out if copying them doesn't work."

"Copying?"

"Yes. Artificial memories are different from organic ones in only one way; they'll go away after a while but they'll leave behind fragments, which keep her appearance the same. By then, she'll take someone else's memories and things will hopefully be back to normal."

"You like helping people, don't you?"

"It's only since I've always been helped and forgiven. I like sharing that feeling with others, Kairi. If you'd been there in Castle Oblivion, you'd know what—" Axel burst in through the front door. "What is it?"

"Namine, I need to know how Xion was able to come back." he said.

"Well, you don't have to worry about her spoiling your time with Roxas. She's gone, memories all wiped out at least for now."

"What do you mean 'for now'?"

"I mean, we're bringing her back."

"Why?"

"For Riku. You'd do the same for Roxas if that's what he wanted and you know it too."

"That son of a—okay, fine. But you can't bring her back without doing anything to Sora." he added. "I bring you to him with no questions asked and what does he do? This, just great."

"That was… random." Kairi said.

Riku finally reached the Postern, but not as tired as Sora got. They used to race up the stairs just for fun when they were bored, but since the Heartless still were in large numbers, they didn't have time anymore. He saw more workers out, working on polishing the pipes that stuck out from some parts of the castle. He walked inside, to a large room, like the one he'd found inside the Castle That Never Was. Lumina, Jossi, Rehn, and some other guy were all positioned on chairs that rose in the same way. "Riku, you already know a lot on your own, so we'll make this quick. Your Keyblade; the Way to Dawn, predecessor, Terra. You need to help Terra find Aqua and Ven. Sora can find Ven, no doubt about it, but Aqua sacrificed herself to the darkness to save Terra and you'll need to go and find her."

"Why me?"

"Kairi can't go because she's a Princess of Heart. You can, because you know your way around the dark and you should be able to find her and bring her out."

"What about Sora?"

"He can't go either. One, it's not his time, two, he has Ventus' heart inside of him and it's vulnerable to the darkness even if he isn't consumed by it." she said, even though it pained her to send him to a place that had scarred him for life. She saw him flinch whenever they even mentioned darkness. Now that she really considered it, Sora had always taken care of the main Heartless overload, and Riku simply protected the people who lived inside the wall while guarding the construction zones.

Jossi sensed that Lumina was in deep thought, and felt how tense the situation was. She tried to remember some happy memory, but none had come immediately. There was the time she created that wall, stretching from the start of the Great Maw, wrapping around the town itself, and ending back where it started after going around the castle. "Think fast!" Rehn shouted, throwing small but sharp daggers at Riku, trying to change the subject. He moved quickly, and used his Keyblade to reflect them back. She caught them easily, and stowed them somewhere safe. "So it's true. You really were going to be Nasuke's apprentice."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh you don't know. Nasuke went missing in a world directly on the border between light and darkness. He was a Keyblade Master then, but we've got no idea about what happened to him."

Kairi watched Namine sort through memories. She had already picked a few, and even transported them to the empty Xion. The only problem was that Sora was the only person who knew where Xehanort's HQ might be. And if he knew that she had gone along with this, let Riku and Namine do this… she couldn't bear to think of it.

"This is a good one. Can I duplicate the time that you two were just going home from a visit on that little island? You were fourteen, so no confusion there… so this is going to be another one."

"Namine, is something wrong?"

"No, why?"

"It's just you sound like something's up."

"Well… the thing is, if Xion were to come back, she might not have any memory of Riku, Roxas, Axel, or anyone else. I might have to do something to Riku in order to make sure she can remember. It won't matter if that fails because Castle Oblivion is where all lost memories go. If Sora ever wanted to remember what happened when he came to Castle O. then he can go there and find the Lost Chamber on the last level of the castle. Everyone can take something they've lost that was once very important to them. The only bad thing is, the room will change from one lost memory to the next, and the original holder can't stop them from invading their minds and hearts. That's where I was born, and your memories were the ones that came to me first. Sora's came next, and by the time Zexion found me, I knew everyone and everything from your point of view."

"Why are you guys talking about memories? I thought we were dealing with Heartless and Unversed and darkness and Xehanort…" Sora said.

"Kairi, I think you should tell him."

"No!"

"If you won't I will."

"Tell me what? The suspense is killing me!"

"We're bringing Xion back."

"What?" he shouted, and Kairi almost thought he'd defied science and cloned himself, but it was just Roxas. He seemed just as angry as his other, and both were freaky when they were angry.

"Calm down. It's for Riku, Sora. They're like you and Kairi, but not by much."

"I knew that he was going out with somebody, but _her_?" Sora was quieter but he wasn't calmed down too much.

"Sora, be fair. Riku can go out with whoever he wants."

In the end, Kairi had to pin Sora on the floor and Namine had to keep Roxas occupied. "Let me go!"

"No… we really owe him one, and you know that."

"I hate it when you're right." he muttered. He relaxed, and she sat up but still pinned his legs to the floor. Their eyes locked just for a minute, and she knew he'd given in.

"Hey! I thought we were still on Xion," Roxas said, tearing away from Namine. It was then that Lea burst in, panting but excited.

"You won't believe it!"

"What?" Sora asked.

"I ran across the Great Maw in ten minutes! Wait, that wasn't it… oh right, I found something. It's this note to the king, and it was in this room with all her armor. I had to search but I found it, and it tells him that Ven is in Castle Oblivion, and she's in the realm of darkness. I'll show you it later. Oh, hey Ven—I mean Roxas… Axel wants you to meet him in the marketplace tomorrow."

"Got it." Sora said. Roxas had merged back, and so had Namine. Lea left, Kairi finally got off of him, and he stood up. So there was a way to do what the Immortals, who looked too much like gods from Olympus, had asked of them. And if there was a way to do that… _then there just might be a way to coming just a little bit close to defeating Xehanort. _She could easily tell he was thinking, so she opened the door to leave, when he pulled her back. _I want to have her for as long as I can._

Terra watched the people in Radiant Garden move through their day, wanting to go outside and meet the kids that would help him find Aqua and Ven. He couldn't yet, not until the wide gap between the past, and the present. Lumina told him what the three rookies had done on their own, without being Keyblade Masters and sometimes without Keyblades. "The wielder of dawn is much like you, in some ways. When Sora finally got to what was then Hollow Bastion (now Radiant Garden again), Riku was about to finish off someone from another world who had come to save a Princess of Heart. Sora stopped him, but that was when Riku really turned on him. Riku took the Chameleon's Case, which had taken on the appearance of the Kingdom Key, and left Sora with a toy sword. He also took two of King Mickey's friends I guess you could call them, and went back to the castle. After, Sora had gotten his spirit back and was face-to-face with Riku again. It was the time that Sora proved his heart, taking back the Keyblade after being protected by one of the two friends Riku had taken. They fought, Riku left, and they went through the castle again looking for the keyhole and Sora's friend Kairi. But Riku eventually was possessed by the Heartless of Xehanort, and he got even worse. So Sora finally finds Kairi, but Riku reveals that Kairi doesn't have her heart and that it's inside of Sora, but he failed at trying to finish his best friend off, and instead… let me see… Sora stabbed himself with a forged Keyblade, released her heart, and completed the Keyhole, but also…"

"I think I get it now. You can tell me later, but I think I want to meet the rookies."

Sora was with Kairi when a guy—he remembered him as Terra from what Lumina had told him—came into the marketplace. Some of the older shopkeepers started whispering, and Sora put down the new healing item the moogles had been working on. Sora summoned his Keyblade, and so did he. Both keys disappeared. "You must be Sora, and I'm gonna guess that's Kairi."

"Yeah, you already want to start searching?"

"I'm not really sure."

"Lea found some clues and Aqua's armor. She left a note telling where Ven is, and where she is. Ven's somewhere in Castle Oblivion, and she's in the realm of darkness. At least most of her is."

"What do you mean 'most of her'?"

"Part is in me, same with Ven. Once they finish up with Kairi, we can all go in the gummi and look."

"Is that some new trend with rookies or what? What happened to Keyblade Rides?"

"What?"

"Nevermind. So all of you three are friends?"

"Kairi's my girlfriend, Riku's my best friend."

"Okay, since you sound so experienced, where are we going to look first?"

"Castle Oblivion, isn't it obvious?"

"Do you even know where that is?"

"No…"

"Exactly. It's only accessible by warps, or corridors of darkness. We get there, but someone has to wait outside in case we don't come back."

"What do you mean?" Kairi asked, joining in for the first time.

"Aqua set up the castle in a certain way so that not just anybody can get in and get out. If we're going to find Ven, Sora has to go, Riku should go, I'm not sure about you…"

"Hey—"

"Beginner mistake right there. You have to learn to let things go sometimes. If Kairi has to wait outside, she'll wait outside."

Riku listened intently to what Lumina was telling him about the darkness. She had said that there were twelve Immortals over there, and if he got lucky, one of them could get him out of there. He didn't know who this Aqua person was, but at least he knew what she looked like. This search would be enough to keep his mind off of Xion, and how quick she had disappeared. It wasn't like he wanted to forget about her, it just hurt to remember. The five stages of grief didn't seem too inviting anyway. First he would deny she was defragmented, then he would get angry about it and destroy whatever got near him, then he'd start trying to switch out his life for hers but wouldn't do it in the end, then he'd also get depressed, and finally, he'd start accepting the fact that she wouldn't be coming back.

"Kid, are you even listening?"

"Huh?"

"Ok, I'll give you a break. You can leave early."

Aqua wanted to escape from the confines of Sora's heart, just after she heard Terra. Ven had the same restlessness that she did, and they kept jumping from mural to mural, somehow hoping to reach Terra's heart. But they only ended back where they started. Now they rested in Kairi's heart, looking at the things around them. A short bridge between Sora's and Kairi's hearts proved just how close they were to each other. Six other murals connected to Kairi's heart, showing the ties between the seven princesses. Of course, Ven didn't care much about the mage talk, but he was interested in getting out. She got really worried about how he responded to some things, and had to keep a close eye on him. Every once in a while, they'd see the Anti-Sora that Roxas had told them about. Whenever they got near it, the darkness was sucked right out of them. That only made Aqua even more worried, not for Ven but for Sora. Too much darkness wasn't good for anybody. So if they ever saw glowing yellow eyes, they ran for it. "How much longer?" Ven asked, sounding unusually quieter.

"I'm not sure. All I know is that what happens to us is up to Terra, Sora, Riku, and Kairi."

"Well, looks like we have two of you here. I was hoping for someone else, but I guess I have to settle for you losers." The last voice they wanted to hear said to them. They heard him, but didn't see him anywhere. "Oh right. You can't see me. See (oh wait, you can't!)? This is what happens when I end up in a pure heart. These things are overkill, I'm telling you. Put all you got into fighting for light, and in the end, it's gonna be a big waste of time."

"That's what you think. That's always what you've been thinking, only because you don't know the first thing about light. Master Xehanort's been using you, and I know you're not stupid enough to ignore it." Ven said.

"You're right. But you're wrong too, Ventus. He figures that he's using me, but in reality, I'm only using him to find the true darkness. Everyone else thinks it's surreal, a myth, a lie, but I know it's out there. And there ain't nothing you can do to stop me." Ven thought he could see a little of Vanitas, but it was so unclear that it could easily just be a hallucination induced by his voice.

"Things could've been different, but you can't do anything except—"

"Hate people, I know, I know. All the others gave me the little speech too. Mostly Xion, since she kept committing treason against Master. And by the way, I've been over here the whole time." Vanitas added, walking closer on the path between the Sora's heart and Kairi's heart. As he did, he started becoming transparent. Aqua and Ven summoned their Keyblades on reflex but they put them away, remembering how easily darkness escaped if you fought it inside a heart. Anti-Sora took care of Vanitas though, knocking him over and clawing at the kid. He struggled to pull his mask back on, while kicking at the strange Heartless creature. It took a dive off the mural and they heard nothing but the strange breathing and other noises fading away. "I…"

"You what?"

"I owe you something, at least the ones who have physical forms. I've kept her guarded this whole time, but I think you guys would more like to have her back."

"What, why the change of heart?"

"I don't know. It's just that… every time I get near her, no, every time I even think about her… my head gets all messed up. I'll be right back." Ven couldn't understand what his counterpart meant, but it had to be a sign of something big happening. If Vanitas acted even the tiniest bit nice, things were not at all right. He did reappear later, as said, passing them a white transgender figure with a standardized face and body type. They looked at it, and passed it back. "She used to be my rival, and a friend of Riku's. We got busted by the gummi patrol, since we were trying to get to this inaccessible world. She did this to herself inside the holding cell, and told me to keep her Keyblade safe."

"This is a forged version. It'll stay wherever but it's not the real thing. She's bonded herself to this thing, so that if it stays in good hands, she'll survive. I recognize stuff like this, I mean, I know Castle Oblivion inside and out! Someone must've used the tools I left behind to transplant memories into her mind. Take this to Riku as soon as possible."

Riku was sitting around in the Postern, watching them refill the reservoir with the water that would be pumped all over town. One district was filled with them, and they planned to make the Great Maw apart of it, just a little. A corridor of darkness appeared, but he ignored it and continued watching people pass buckets along a line while the construction crew rebuilt the pipe system. "She says she's sorry, don't ask any questions 'cause I am outta here!"

He thought about it, and started remembering who she was. Now that she was reduced to this, maximum level of pain had been reached. He looked around at Radiant Garden, watching the guards rebuild some other platforms like the Postern, with stairs connecting them. Also, the destroyed parts of the castle were almost done, with the fort below being torn down and replaced with a town square and a whole new neighborhood. Around where the crystal cavern was, Leon had been discussing plans for an aqueduct to be constructed, with the hydroelectric power plant too. The frame was already standing, but there was so much to work on, they stopped the maintenance and worked on the town more. Four gates faced each other, allowing visitors in and out of the four districts of the town, and Riku had wanted to show her around each. The feeling he felt wasn't easy to describe; a mixture of anger, sadness, and anxiety. "Yeah, Riku's in the castle, he should be out in a little while." Sora said, climbing up the stairs.

"Is that him?" someone asked. Riku looked up, trying to hide the weird feeling, but he knew it wouldn't work. Lumina had identified the person that was with Sora and Kairi was named Terra. They all stared at the remnant of Xion, and looked back at him. "What the hell is that?" Terra finally said, and both Sora and Kairi elbowed him. "I probably deserved that. Sorry, I think I lost some of the discipline after Xehanort."

"Hey guys, um, this masked guy came and just handed her over. I'm not sure why."

"Did you say a masked kid? Only one person—Vanitas! I thought he was a goner. No wonder… Sora, your Nobody, there's been a huge mix-up. Vanitas is supposed to look like him and he's supposed to look like Vanitas. If we got Ven out of you, then Roxas would look just like you."

Kairi was withdrawn into her own heart, spotting the usual Ven and Aqua, she found Namine on the mural below her own. Aqua followed her, and they found Namine pacing back and forth. She was watching the world through Kairi's eyes, and they could tell by the projections displaying a first-person view of them. "Kairi, will it affect me and Roxas. I mean, if he looks like Sora… I… Castle Oblivion… I just can't." Aqua looked confused, so Kairi whispered,

"Namine was born in Castle Oblivion, but the Organization was using her. They tricked her into rewriting all of Sora's memories so she replaced me. It traumatized her, and she's not exactly comfortable around Sora even though he doesn't remember anything. You get the idea?"

"Yeah, I think so. But that's a huge problem. Ven's heart has to get out of Sora, and so does mine. And we can't solve both." Aqua turned to face Namine, who kept pacing back and forth. "Namine, which do you think is more important? The first thing I had to learn when I was training under Master Eraqus was that you have to sometimes have to be selfless, no matter what goes on in your personal life. Think about it, which will affect more people? If all seven of us weren't out there, it would take much longer. I'm not trying to be terrible either—" Kairi gave her a kind of look, "You know what? Why don't you just talk to Roxas about this? That's better than listening to me rambling."

"Hey Aqua, where'd you go? Oh, there you are. So what's going on?"

"If your heart gets out of Sora and vice versa, then Roxas will look like Vanitas does now, and Vanitas will look like you."

"No, no, no, I'm so against this. There is no freaking way I'd let Vanitas walk anywhere with my face."

"That's two against us. And Ven, Vanitas won't look exactly like you. He'll have some differences, I mean; he's the darkness that you were stripped of. You have a pure heart filled with light. Vanitas… well, we can all agree he's pure darkness."

"Yeah, but don't you remember when he merged with me? We looked just like me except with yellow eyes."

"I know that, but seriously, we have to do this. Like it or not, it's for the best." Aqua said, trying to reason with him. Ven kept on shaking his head, and she remembered the events of twelve years ago. Ven had been just as stubborn then, not wanting to go home, not wanting to miss out on the action that later would be the danger. She tried to at least get Kairi to back her up, but she only shook her head while motioning towards Namine. _If they won't do this, then I guess I will. _she thought, while throwing her Keyblade down at the vortex below the mural. Ven watched her freefall into it, and vanish.

Aqua ran into Vanitas once more, on Sora's mural. The piece of Vanitas was on one side, with Ven's on the other. He seemed to be looking around for the way to control a person from the inside, and wasn't succeeding. She opened up the small, round door covering the only way to control Sora. She lowered herself inside, blinded by a bright light, and felt the hole close up above her. When she did open her eyes, she was standing next to Kairi who had just come back to the world, with Terra on her other side. It had worked, now Sora wouldn't be able to control himself unless the hole was opened again, and everyone would see and hear her as him. Then she'd be able to do what Namine and Ven wouldn't. She turned around and started to walk down the stairs.

"Uh, where are you going?" Kairi asked.

"Just stay here, I'll be back." Aqua said, running as fast as she could down the stairs. When she reached the bottom, she threw her Keyblade into the air and it transformed into her Keyblade ride. She got on, and blasted off through the opening. She cruised through the stars and the worlds, looking for the warp that would take her to the castle. She found it about a half-hour later, and warped quickly through it. She knew they must've seen the Keyblade Ride, so she was sure to be quick. Castle Oblivion was a little war-torn, but it still stood. She opened the door, and saw the room entry code. She had taped the password for the first room, but that was the password that would only get you lost. She entered "" and the door opened into the chamber that she had kept Ven inside. He was there, sleeping, and she was about to transfer his heart back, when the door slammed and somebody started clapping.

"Congratulations, Sora. You have found Ventus and I also see you have come alone, but you will not be taking him this with you. He belongs to me now. I shall give you the opportunity to escape with your life, unless you'd rather try to stop me."

"Master Xehanort, Ven is useless as is, don't you see? He has no heart, he won't wake up." Aqua said, trying to sound nonchalant about it, no matter how nervous she was. Xehanort seemed to be under the trick, so she relaxed a little.

MEANWHILE…

Terra knew something wasn't right when he saw Sora take off on a Keyblade Ride. Kairi and Riku seemed to know it too. "What was that thing Sora said earlier, about Aqua and Ven?"

"Oh, he said that Ven's heart was inside him. And part of Aqua had connected with him too."

"One of those two… Sora's possessed."

"You're joking."

"No, seriously, it can happen. Aqua or Ven must've gotten deep enough into Sora's heart so that they can 'control' him. Who knows where they went."

"Let me think. What would be the first thing Aqua or Ven would do if they could control Sora. Find their bodies, duh! So we split up and look for Castle Oblivion, simple as that." Riku said, rolling his eyes. He almost forgot about Xion, until she started sliding off the pipe.

"Alright, you two can take the gummi and I'll take my Keyblade Ride." Terra replied repeating what the possessed Sora had done. Riku smirked and repeated the action, taking Xion with him. He followed Terra, and Kairi was left by herself. She eventually got the courage to try it out, and threw Oathkeeper up into the air. She caught up with Riku and Terra and they went through a warp which Terra told them was probably where Sora had gone. Both Kairi and Riku ended up crashing, but Terra kept moving towards the castle. Riku dragged Xion closer, and Kairi ran forward, catching a glimpse of Sora inside. Terra held her back, and they all got closer at once, finally spotting Sora. Master Xehanort was there too, and he was commanding some Silhouettes to "take care of" him.

Kairi really felt the impulse to go help Sora, but with Terra holding both her and Riku back, that impulse was forced down. He got out a Keyblade and tried to attack the Silhouettes, but they easily avoided his attempts. _They really aren't human._ he thought when one managed to grab his Keyblade and used it to twist his arm while the others used power of darkness to make Heartless at their own will. Kairi summoned her own Keyblade and backed up far enough, then cast spells at them. They were bound together, and the gravity spell kept them stuck to the floor. She used a sleep spell as back-up, and motioned for him to grab Sora and if he could, Ven. Master Xehanort put up a barrier between them, and again, things weren't working out.

Aqua knew Master Xehanort wasn't falling for it anymore; she had let her guard down, meaning that some wouldn't be able to see her as Sora anymore. "You haven't done anything this whole time. I see Eraqus must've taught you not to fight darkness with light. I see where he may have come up with that, as I was once taught, darkness and light cannot exist without the other. Just the same basic thing I told a younger Terra that darkness can't be destroyed or else light would not exist. Darkness can only be channeled."

Kairi looked and saw Aqua instead of Sora. She retreated inside herself, and only had to look up from her own mural to see him. She carefully climbed up the stained glass steps to his mural, which was a relatively short distance, and saw he wasn't the only one up there. Roxas and Ven were up there, with Namine standing further to the side. She was about to ask what was going on, when part of the mural started glowing. Ven rushed to the spot where the glow was coming from. Kairi ran a finger around the edge of the spot and found it was removable. They tugged at it, until it came off, and Aqua reappeared. At least they had the right Sora now.


	16. Just a Myth

_**2 reviews (keep them coming, it's motivating!), 1,066 hits, 3 favs, and 2 alerts! Special thanks to these people; Caim889, Eppsilon7, InTheNightlight, InTheNightlight2, XionsSomebody, jamrulz, Taeniaea, and everyone else. **_

Nobody moved, and the only sounds were breathing. Apparently, Master Xehanort was waiting for the four Keybearers to act, and to Kairi it was very unnerving. Sora looked like he was going to do something, but every time he looked like he was going to move, he lost the determination and silence fell again. Roxas and Namine got out of their complete selves, and Namine cast a blinding spell on everyone. They ran outside, and ducked behind the wall. Although they both felt they shouldn't leave everyone behind, Namine stood up, keeping her back pinned against the outer wall of Castle Oblivion. She quickly entered the password for the eleventh floor, and waited. The door closed, and it opened again. Roxas peeked and no sign of Sora or the others. They went inside, and started to look for the room with all the lost memories. She wanted to help Riku only because of how he had helped her, and he wanted to help Riku just so he wouldn't be emo anymore. Even though he'd get over it after a while, Roxas was too impatient to put up with it now. Namine led him up the stairs, and they came to the second floor. "Tell me again how this is supposed to get us there?"

"Simple, I used the password to open up the route. That's how this castle works. You enter a certain password, the route will open up."

"Couldn't you get us directly there?" he said by the ninth floor.

"I would if I knew that password."

"You were _born_ here, how could you _not_ know the password."

"I was locked in a room half the time. Did you know how to manage the computers at the mansion in Twilight Town?" she asked, he shook his head. "And you were born there."

"You can't blame me! I'm not a computer nerd, and neither is Sora."

"We're here!" she said, opening the door. Roxas passed out on the floor, and Namine stepped over him to search for the secret entrance. She felt around on the wall, knocking on hollow parts, then tracing the edge and watching the wall dematerialize into a small door. She opened it, and waited a few seconds before heading in. The tunnel she had to take was long in one direction, but curved. A gravity charm dragged her down to the basements of the castle. She tried to slow herself down, but she landed in the room of cards hard. A sharp pain came from her leg, and she had to drag herself to the wall. She used it to get on her feet, trying not to put any weight on her hurting leg. Marluxia had explained to Sora that the cards were apart of the castle, but she knew it wasn't exactly true. Cards made it easier to get through the castle, made getting to things easier. But the way the castle was designed, there had to be card combos too. Combining a fire-based attack with a fire-type spell would help you unfreeze the door to the Chamber of Ice. There, everything was frozen in time. You could use that room to your advantage, stopping your enemies or freeze time to give you spare time. The Chamber of Fire was the exact opposite; it would balance out the Chamber of Ice unfreezing time. There was also a Chamber of Light and a Chamber of Darkness. These rooms affected the nature of Castle Oblivion greatly, and if you used the wrong card, it would upset the balance and the world would get closer to either light or darkness. The only way to rebalance it was to follow the rule, one card for a thousand mistakes. The user would have to throw their life card into the weaker chamber, killing them, but it would reverse all the mistakes from that side, rebalancing the scale. She searched through the millions of cards, finding memories labeled with different names. She knew that the minute you enter the castle, your memories are put on cards, as the spell on the castle still stood. Finally, she found a card for Xion. She turned it over, and saw Xion's description. _"A being created as a base for memories, first being given life by the use of Sora's memories. She was always able to switch memories with those connected to Sora, but because of the memory fragments left behind; she __cannot__ exist at all without him. She is best to stay away from, because of her origins being natured of darkness. Date of Birth: May 17, 2008 Original Name: No. I Creator(s): Organization XIII." _This was her card, for sure. Namine looked for a way out, but found not even one exit.

Sora regained his sight soon after Master Xehanort. Riku was next, then Kairi. He called back his Keyblade. "I am willing to make a deal with all of you." Xehanort told the trio. He kept his eyes focused on the wielder of dawn and the object in his hands.

"We're listening…"

"I will let you leave here with Ventus… if, you will give me Xion and the memories." Sora tightened his hold on the Keyblade. As much as he wanted to accept that deal, it wouldn't be fair to Riku.

"No way!" That was the first time Riku had said anything. "We don't even have the memories!"

"_You_ may not have them, but the princess' Nobody surely does." He snapped his fingers and out of darkness, Namine appeared. She held a card in her hand with Xion's name on it. She saw Master Xehanort and made a run for it. He stunned her, and took the card.

Roxas cast a fire spell on the frozen door using the Bond of Flame Keyblade to boost its power, figuring Namine was mad at him for falling asleep and that she had frozen the door. When he melted it, he heard a click and opened it. He found Namine, but she was frozen… while running? _Weird stuff._ he thought as he walked around the room she was in. The walls were all bare, no intricate designs on them, unlike the rest of the castle. He touched it, curious about the ice covering, but he felt like the life was being sucked out of him. He froze in place, having lost all control of his own body. The door shut, and he grew terrified as the door refroze.

"What did you do to Namine?" all three asked at the same time, with rising anger.

"I thought you'd rather trade Xion for her, instead of Ventus."

"Riku, we can't risk losing Namine or Ven. Just give him what he wants, and we can leave with both of them." Terra said. Sora and Kairi shot him deadly glares, making him slightly uncomfortable in their presence.

"Terra does have a point, wielder of dawn. Xion was only using you for her own gain, do you not think she'd always come back and tell me everything about you, about your friends, she was a possible apprentice of mine." Xehanort said. Kairi would've turned her deadly stare to him, but Sora gave her all the signals not to. "You were a traitor, what makes you think she wouldn't do the same? Haven't you ever heard the saying, 'love is blind'? Take it into consideration. Now if you refuse, I will take her, Ven, _and_ Namine. They will be of good use to the Silhouettes."

Riku looked at her one last time, before giving up and handing her over. His friends gave him questioning looks, but exited in a corridor of darkness. He watched Sora try to get Ven off the bed where he slept, but he was deadweight. All three guys had to team up to get him into a standing position. Sora started to glow, when the others let go. He tried to get his hand off, but it was stuck. The glow ended, but Sora felt sick and somewhat empty. Ven touched his shoulder, and he suddenly felt better. "Take it back… it's yours."

Roxas finally was set free, and ran with Namine to the exit. They stopped when Roxas started glowing. He fell to the ground, and there was a flash of bright light. What they didn't know, was that it wasn't just affecting them.

MEANWHILE…

Vanitas heard Roki and Mitsu tried to investigate, but he stopped them from getting any closer. He knew Roki had his own Keyblade and could get past, but at least Mitsu was out of the way. He looked at his hands and saw them glowing. He only saw darkness, before the purple glow disappeared. Mitsu stepped back, and he rubbed his head… noticing he didn't feel his own spiky hair as usual. As much as he dreaded looking like Sora, that was his look. He ran to the cave, where the reflective crystals were. At first, all he saw were his own yellow eyes looking back at him, but when he looked at a bigger crystal, he saw his appearance was similar to that of Ventus. He nearly screamed, losing the usual calm. Mitsu only laughed at the conniption he was having, but Master didn't think it was so funny. "Vanitas. Mitsu. Roki. I managed to get them to hand her over in exchange for Ventus, which I only had to do because of you." he said, looking at Vanitas. "But you are my apprentice, and my creation. Therefore, you are my responsibility."

Mitsu leaned against the wall, bored of Roki and Vanitas had calmed down. Master had said something about only the greatest of the great could help them in this setback, and he'd disappeared before they could even ask. "Hey, what did he mean by 'the greatest of the great'?" she asked. Roki shrugged, but Vanitas looked like he had to know something. They both stared at him, waiting.

"What?"

"Just answer the question."

"He's going to try and find something to bring back the Immortals from the Realm of Darkness. If you ask me, they're just a myth"

_**Sorry about the short chapter, I got a little writer's block. **_


	17. Distraction, Diversion

_**I recovered! After watching a couple movies, reading some of my old-and-abandoned fanfics, I got my ideas back**_

Ventus would've beat Sora to a pulp if it weren't for Terra standing right there. So he only left the slightly-weakened teen to recover from the severed connection. Neither of them would actually recover unless Vanitas was merged back with Ven. One could not exist without the other and if they merged, both could exist without costing the other their consciousness or their life. But Sora wouldn't be himself, no, not until they found Vanitas. Not until they had him fading away, panicking and going out of character, wanting to pull someone over to the dark side. Someone he could take advantage of, and use for his own personal gain. Ventus could only shudder as thoughts and memories of his enemy crossed his mind. The sadistic grin, the mocking of his friendships with Aqua and Terra, it was like Sora turned inside out, including his personality. Vanitas wasn't a klutz like Sora, he cared more for himself than for others, he wasn't kind or caring, and he certainly didn't like to crack jokes with his friends if he had any. "So, are we leaving or what?" Riku asked, in a dull voice. Kairi and Sora knew it'd be awhile before Riku went back to the norm, but at least he wasn't mute. But becoming deaf and blind was still open. Sora and Kairi did the same when they retreated to their stations, but they never really knew if Riku possessed that same ability. There were a lot of differences between the trio, but some were hard to pinpoint, and those differences disappeared like a sock that you would toss under the bed and leave there for four to five years before pulling out. Everyone agreed to get out of the eerie world, and they left on Keyblade Rides. Still, some of them preferred the gummi ship no matter how slow it was. They blasted out of the warp, just as it zipped shut behind Sora. He got into the lead, surfing on his ride like Ven. The two competed for the lead, but Ven won. Sora gave himself a speed boost by ducking low. If he stood up and spread out his arms, the parachute effect would take place and slow him down. Radiant Garden appeared, and their portal reopened to allow them to pass. When Kairi passed through, it closed and their Keyblades returned to their original forms. The ones who were new to the form of travel had difficulty on the landing, and ended up getting scratched up just a bit.

"We all made it in one piece, well, at least me and you." he added, facing Terra. Sora got up, rubbing his head where his Keyblade had hit him, and felt Roxas. The Nobody came out, but two of their group tried to kill him.

"Relax! It's just Roxas. Don't treat him like that guy you're really mad at, he's still Roxas at um, well….."

"…heart? Newsflash; I don't have one." Roxas said, sounding frustrated. Namine acted funny around him, and she wouldn't look directly at him when she did talk to him.

"Oh and about your landing there—you'll have to do better than that to get your hands on an Ultima Keyblade." Ven said, eyeing Roxas carefully. The only difference was the blue eyes.

"An Ultima-what?" he asked.

"An Ultima Keyblade. They're evolved Keyblades, only for Masters. It's hard to explain, but take the X-Blade for example. It's the Ultima form of the Kingdom Key, and also the most powerful of _all_ Keyblades. If you became a Master and brought all skills to the highest measurable level, then the X-Blade would become yours. Spellguardian is the Ultima form of the Oathkeeper, which you should know is a magic-type Keyblade, Kairi. Riku, your Ultima form for the Way to Dawn is Dark Median." Terra said, showing off his insane knowledge. Looks like being the shell for Xehanort's heart was paying off. "They're kinda like a legend ever since the Keyblade War. I'm sure the Immortals could explain it further, that is, if they're in the mood."

"In the mood?"

"Let's just say that they aren't in the best of spirits. They have this weird way of telling when something's about to go wrong but they can't tell what it is. Master Xehanort's probably up to something." Terra said.

"How can you tell? Are you a psychic?"

"What? No, it's just—"

"Can you teach me how to do that?"

"I'm trying to tell you—"

"Pleeeeeeease!" Sora begged, then Roxas slapped him upside the head, finally making him focus.

"Thanks Roxas. Master Xehanort is _always _up to something, so I just took a guess."

"Oh." Sora said, feeling stupid for thinking Terra had psychic powers. Heavy silence took over, since there wasn't much to talk about. Kairi was the first to speak.

"So now what?"

"I dunno. You guys go home…"

"What about you two? Don't you have somewhere to stay?"

"No, why?"

"Go and head to the inn, I'm sure they'll rent you a room. We'll be out of here in no time." Kairi said. They nodded in agreement, and ran down the stairs.

"How'd you know there was an inn?"

"While you were out, Riku took me to see the town."

"It was just so she wouldn't get bored."

Lumina watched the Keyblade wielders, and sat by the window until they all had left. Rehn kept arguing with Jossi that Xehanort needed to be stopped before he opened the door, but Jossi wanted to wait until he'd opened the door so they all could stop everything at once. She wasn't sure, as she hadn't seen the full ability of any of the Keybearers. "Please, can you two give it a rest?"

"Seriously, don't you think attacking before is better?"

"Actually Rehn, even though that idea has a lot of potential… maybe Jossi is on to something."

"See! I told you so." Jossi brass

"But we should have them train as hard as possible. Didn't Cid say they had a battle simulator in the works? We should get them one of those. And we have to do something about Sora's wound. That thing can get to be a weakness at times. Who gave him that thing anyway?" Rehn asked.

"The Princess of Heart. I think she couldn't take the responsibility or the pressure and took it out on him." Jossi answered.

"Ouch. We should talk to Aerith about that, maybe she can heal it."

"What should we do about the other Immortals of Light? We can't just forget them."

"The Door to Light is the only way, and if we open it, you know how much chaos we could inflict upon the worlds. The Heartless are drawn to it, and they need it to balance out the hearts that they've captured. If it opened long enough to set Rehn free, and let Riku and Sora go home, then we need to open it long enough for about sixteen people to go through."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, there are four of us. One Immortal can go through for every two people, which is a certain length of time. If we let the door stay open for the length that sixteen people could go through then that would mean the remaining eight could pass through."

"But what if they aren't there? What if… they ended up like us, in a deep sleep this whole time?"

"We'll try what we can. The important thing now, at the moment, is to find Aqua."

"I guess you're right. I haven't felt like arguing with you for days! What's happening to me?"

"Nothing's like before."

LATER…

Kairi walked down the cobblestone street to Merlin's house where she wanted to continue learning magic. A few Angry Tear Unversed appeared. They were normal Unversed with angry eyes, shaped like teardrops, with little feet poking out. They protected themselves by making a cover of fire, while shooting fire type spells at you. She cast a few water spells to weaken them, then slashed at them. They disappeared in a burst of flame, but left behind two little boxes. She picked one up, and opened it to see a little bottle with a blue star floating around in it. The star had a moon and a sun going around it diagonally. She put it away in her pocket, unsure what to do with it. The other box held a health orb, and when she picked it up, it acted like a cure spell, circling around her before being absorbed. She felt better, then continued past one more house until she reached her destination.

Aerith opened the door, spotting Kairi before she even knocked on the door. Everyone looked worn out, Yuffie was passed out on a chair, and Cid was hitting his head on the keyboard. Leon wasn't anywhere in sight, and she didn't see Merlin at first. Once she stepped inside though, she spotted the old wizard halfway inside a carpetbag. "Try to be quiet. Yuffie took Sora's shift on fighting the Heartless and Leon took Riku's."

"It takes that much work?" Kairi whispered.

"Yeah. Cid's working on their gummi ship but it's not going well. Merlin should be up in a little bit, I'll go make us some tea," Aerith said. Kairi wasn't really thirsty, but she figured it was her way of being hospitable. She waited around, looking at some of the books near Cid's computer.

"Finally got Sora to—*yawn*—let you go?" Yuffie asked. She turned around, and noticed the ninja's eyes were drooping, like she'd fall back asleep any minute.

"He doesn't know I'm here."

"So how'd you escape? It had to be hard getting past the… laser grid."

"What laser grid?"

"Kidding, kidding… so anything interesting happen while you guys disappeared for two hours?"

"Two hours?"

"Were you on another world? Yeah, there's a time change from world to world."

"We went to Castle Oblivion to chase after Sora, who got possessed by Aqua since Namine and Ven were against waking him up."

"Waking who up?"

"Ven. His heart was stuck inside Sora, and so is part of Aqua's. When we got there, Master Xehanort was there too, and we had to trade Xion for Ven's body. So now we have Terra and Ven back."

"Terra and Ven? You mean the other Keybladers?"

"Yeah. Roxas looks like Sora now; I think that's how it was supposed to be from the start."

"I don't think any of us can handle two of him. It's nearly as bad as two Yuffies." Leon said, walking in. He looked just as beat as Yuffie.

"If I wasn't so tired I'd—" Yuffie fell back asleep.

"Hey Kairi, take a look at this." Cid said, lifting his head at a beeping noise coming from the computer. The message of the screen read

**Incoming Transmission from **

**Mirian **

"Who is it?" she asked, wondering where Mirian was.

"You'll see." Cid replied, pressing some buttons. The message shrunk and was replaced with video chat window. The man on it looked to be about twenty-six with orange hair that spiked up in the middle and on the side of his head. She could see the top of a Chinese-style shirt with part of a white t-shirt showing. His eyes were a kind of dark green, showing not much emotion. At the sight of Cid, his eyes lit up with some happiness.

"Hey Cid, long time no see. How is everybody?"

"We're all fine. What about you and Atsuki?"

"We're trying not to get killed. Hang on… is that who I think it is?"

"You bet,"

"Hey Kairi! I haven't seen you in a while."

"You know me?"

"You really weren't kidding about the memory loss."

"Kairi, this is Master Tareq. He trained for two years with Aqua, Ventus, and Terra."

"Speaking of them, where are they?"

"You don't know?"

"Know what?"

"How long has it been since you were last at The Land of Departure?"

"At least twelve years, give or take."

"Well, Ven and Terra are just fine, but Aqua… we don't know where she is."

"Oh…"

"Who are you talking to? We have to get out of here, the bomb's going to go off soon!"

"Atsuki, that you?"

"Cid? Tareq let me see that. Oh hey guys!"

"See, Kairi? That's your soon-to-be master."

"My master?"

"Yeah. She's lucky, she only has to teach one. I have to teach four."

"No, not if Nasuke shows up."

"I miss looking like Ven." Roxas said, sounding upset. Sora stopped eating.

"Why?"

"What do you mean 'why'?"

"What's wrong with looking like me?"

"Not everything. I can run around and get you in trouble without there being any evidence it wasn't you. I can also sucker people into giving me free food… but the point is, I liked looking like that."

"You mean, Axel and Namine are acting funny around you."

"I never said that!"

"You didn't have to, but you were thinking it. Nice try, but you know what I'm thinking and I know what you're thinking."

"Yeah, the only bad side to being a Nobody."

"Just give it time, they'll get used to it."

"No they won't, my patience doesn't go that far."

"I didn't notice." Sora replied sarcastically. "If that doesn't work, wear a paper bag over your head."

"Any other option?"

"Plastic surgery?"

"Something less _painful_."

"The only other thing I can think of is to switch places with that masked kid that Terra was talking about."

"One problem. I DON'T KNOW WHERE HE IS!"

"You don't have to yell, I can hear you fine."

"_In that case, I guess I don't have to yell at you either."_

Sora looked around, and shrugged. He must have been hearing things.

"_You don't know what's ahead of you, and all I can say is it isn't going to be pretty."_

"I'm going to try and talk to her again." Roxas said, getting up and pulling the hood of the Organization coat down over his face.

"_Being naïve is one of your greater weaknesses, and because of it, you may just end up dying. And in the end, guess who will be laughing?" _

Now he was getting seriously frustrated, where was that voice coming from? He heard it, but not with his ears. He retreated into his station, and tried to see if a connection was open. He didn't see one.

"_You can't see me, because the connection I have with you is one I have with someone else. That connection may be weak, but it's enough to do this."_

Sora felt a strong pain in the back of his head, as he involuntarily stood up and summoned the Kingdom Key. He was forced to go outside and keep walking. His legs grew numb as they moved of their own accord. He stopped at the edge, where you could see the next neighborhood, but it was a cliff that kept him away. He felt like he was being pushed, and fell over. He couldn't stop himself from falling, but he was able to cross his arms over his face to keep his head from getting hurt. He blacked out when he hit the street below.

"_Are you going to give up?" _

Kairi was relieved when Merlin finally got out of the bag. The room melted away into the training area, and the furniture started to move again. "Now you should work on blizzard, fire, aero, and earth type spells. Start at the first line and when you feel ready, move to the second, then to the third and so on."

She focused on a coffee table, and when it stopped moving for a split-second, she was able to freeze it. She froze a lamp, then a stool, and set an armoire on fire. It felt a little more natural, now that her memories were coming back at an even faster rate. Not just the past year, but the four years she spent in Radiant Garden as a small child. They all came back, some as a rush, others slowly leaking into her mind. And ever since they had returned from Castle Oblivion, her memories had come back even stronger. The pieces were lining up, but only so much. She saw her reflection in the ice formed around the training targets. She saw the anxiety, she saw the fear, but she also saw the strength of heart she had behind that. She cast a fire spell, backing up. She let the determination take over. Her mana was drained, and the spells got weaker and weaker. _No!_ she thought, looking at the reflection. She had to keep getting stronger, and just like Ven had said, get an Ultima Keyblade. Sora had seemed so desperate to get to the Immortals and learn more, it made her feel the same urge to know. And she just felt that they'd let her know more if she could prove she wasn't the weak damsel-in-distress everyone pictured when they thought of a princess. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the bottle. The star swirled around, and the moon and sun orbited it, in a hypnotizing manner.

"Ah! You have an ether? Well, if your mana feels drained, you should drink it to partially restore it. Taking a rest helps too." the old wizard said, as she stared at the contents. It had a pleasant smell, and it nearly lulled her into sleeping. But she was quick to drink it before she fell asleep. She got chills that began at her feet and worked their way up her spine and into her head making her dizzy. Then she got a burst of warmth settling in her stomach before disappearing. She felt the cosmic items swirling inside her before calming. Then she was able to continue her training.

Riku kicked a few rocks on the street, when came riding on a skateboard. He seemed out of breath, and couldn't speak for a few moments. "Riku, he's hurt… he fell off… a-a cliff and he's out cold." He couldn't believe the Nobody until he saw it for himself. So he ran next to Roxas, skating through, grinding the side of the rails as they passed down the stairs. When he saw his best friend lying face-down on the street, he knew something had to be up. Sora had his stupid moments, but never would his friend purposely jump, run, slide, or flip off a cliff. They tried shaking him, but he didn't show the slightest sign of life.

"You sure he didn't just pass out on the street?"

"And risk getting hit by a car? No, I don't think so." Roxas shot back, sounding somewhat hurt.

"Maybe he sleepwalks…"

"How would you know?"

"Ask Kairi, maybe she would know."

"I'm not going anywhere, I'm beat. You take Sora over there, and I'll go get some help." Riku agreed, but only because he knew it'd be the best thing to do. He checked the town square first, then went to Merlin's house to ask Leon and Yuffie if they'd seen her. When he got there, they all gaped at the injured Keyblade wielder with wide eyes and open mouths. Aerith was the first to try and tend to the bruising on his arms and legs, while Yuffie rushed Cid to check his vital signs on the computer, and to everyone's relief he wasn't in critical condition.

"What the hell happened to him?"

"I don't know! I came here looking for Kairi. Roxas found him on the street by the second district. We think he fell off the cliff near our house."

"You sure Roxas didn't push him off the cliff?" Leon asked. Everyone glared at him, and he put up his hands in defense of his strong disdain for Nobodies.

"Sora, c'mon man you gotta wake up!" Riku said, gripping his best friend's shoulders and shaking him. Sora's head jerked violently, but no sign of getting up.

"_Looks like my job here is done for now…"_

_**Who's the person behind this? What do they want? If you reread the dialogue for the voice, there's a hint or two on the identity. –Fantasy-Keymaster2599 **_


	18. Schizophrenic Sora

Kairi felt proud of herself when Merlin told her how her magic level had improved. She thought it was enough training for one day, and all the furniture Merlin had conjured up was burnt, frozen, destroyed, and blown apart. The training area disappeared and they were back inside Merlin's home, but there seemed to be a little more activity than before. Aerith seemed busier than ever, but from the angle she was looking, she couldn't tell what. Riku was there too, and Roxas, still wearing the Organization coat. Namine seemed to freeze up inside of her, but as she hadn't taken over, Kairi still could walk over to the spot they were surrounding. She felt more tired than she had when she left the training, but she thought it was only because of his injuries. She was lucky Namine helped to keep her legs straight. "We think he either, one, fell asleep in the street." Kairi shook her head at that. He wasn't that stupid, to fall asleep in the middle of the road, and risk getting hit by a car. "Two, he was running and got hit by a car." That made a little more sense, but why would he need to run? Aerith said Leon and Yuffie were taking care of the Heartless surrounding Radiant Garden. "Three, he fell off a cliff. Four, he was pushed by Roxas off the cliff. That one was Leon's idea; he has this thing against Nobodies…" Riku said, in his own defense when Kairi started shooting daggers his way.

"Two and three seem likely… but the important question right now is if he's okay." Kairi said, as Aerith healed some of the bruising on his forearms.

"With these bruises, it looks like he tried to protect himself." she muttered, while using a silenced curaga spell. His natural healing was increased, and they watched as his fractured arm started to decrease in swelling. "I'd give it a day or two for the bone ends become stable, and the damaged blood vessels start growing across the break… a week from now for the bone to heal and regain full strength. He'll be out for a while, but don't let him get up or anything." she said, putting his arm in a sling she kept in a small kit. He stirred just a little when she lifted the arm into it. "Only more reason to finish that hospital before anything else too serious happens."

Riku didn't say much of anything, but still tried to figure out just how Sora ended up where they found him in the condition that they found him in. He wasn't sure about the getting hit by a car idea, cars were hardly seen anywhere in town. You always could find what you were looking for by walking. Not even the roads seemed suitable for cars to drive on, compared to the islands. Riku and Kairi said they'd make up for Leon and Yuffie having to work so hard, but Aerith told them not to worry about.

"_Somebody_ has to get rid of those Heartless, and it isn't going to be me."

"Or me."

"Trust me, we can handle it." Riku said, before picking Sora up and carrying him bridal-style out the door. Kairi said goodbye to everyone and followed them. Roxas kept close behind, watching her, hoping maybe Namine might want to talk to him.

"Wow, he wasn't kidding…"

"Hmm?"

"It doesn't look like he weighs that much when you carry him, but if I tried he'd suffocate me first."

"When we were little—this was before you came to the islands—Sora used to get sick easily. I always had to carry him home, and even after you came, when we had those swordfights… sometimes he'd get knocked out and I had to carry him home. So you get used to it after a while."

"Is that why he's so skinny?"

"Partially. He's naturally like that."

"Wow, home already." she said, as they approached the house they all shared. They both noticed the large bootprints in the grass, and they were headed towards the edge.

"That answers our question of how."

Sora kept shouting at the voice to show itself, saying it had already had its way, injuring him.

"_You think that was _it_?" _

"Yeah, or more hoping that was it."

"_I'll be here as long as I'm needed." _

"But I don't need you, considering you could have possibly killed me."

"_I'd say that was an exaggeration. But it's not you that needs me, it's somebody that needs me here. And as long as they need me here, _I will _be here."_

"Okay, you're a very determined evil spirit. What else?"

"_Evil spirit… no, not even close, Sora." _

"Conscience?"

"_You wish." _

"Then what are you?"

"_I'm somebody to keep you company until it's done. Then the connection will close, I think. If it's still open, you can say goodbye to your Nobody." _

"What did you do to Roxas?"

"_Nothing, he's worthless."_

"How could you say that, he's got a life you know?"

"_Yeah sure, but he doesn't _exist_. The nonexistence can't do much to assist the Master." _

"You're one of them aren't you? Get out of my head!"

"_I'm not in your head." _

"Just _get out_!"

"_Sorry, run that by me one more time?" _

**Sora… Sora wake up…**

"Huh?"

"_That wasn't me." _

**C'mon Sora… you gotta wake up…**

**Kairi let him sleep… **

**I just wanna make sure he's okay…**

He blinked as the mural faded into darkness, the darkness that you face when your eyes are closed, when you shut the lights off, that kind. His eyes finally adjusted, and he saw Kairi leaning above him, worried. The sudden change from the mural to her blue-violet eyes shocked him slightly and he jumped. He tried to stand up, but a sharp pain in his arm and Riku pushing him back down kept him on his bed. That's when he noticed his broken arm. "Don't start freaking out, Aerith put a cure on it so it'll be another week before—"

"I need this arm! I can't fight without it!"

"Relax. And I thought you didn't use a two-handed swing anymore."

"I sometimes use it, but still!"

"You aren't listening! It's only a week; you can go that long without fighting. Me and Kairi can handle a couple Heartless without you, don't worry about it." Riku said, before leaving.

"So how'd you even get like this?"

"It was this—" He couldn't finish before he got a headache, like his head was being split in half.

"_Say a word about me, both you _and_ the princess will be done for." _

_If it weren't for the pain…_

"What?"

"It was just me, you know, a total klutz…" he said, hating the thing that had intruded his head and heart. She looked skeptical, but didn't press him to tell the truth. He tried to get up again, but she pushed him down just as hard as Riku did and he realized just how much she must've been training.

"Oh no you don't. Stay put."

"You know, I think if you left me for a few minutes with him, he won't try anymore." Roxas said, coming in. Kairi seemed more than willing to let Roxas take over, and left the room. She went back out and saw Riku raiding the fridge. She smiled; some things never changed. She sat on the couch, and lazed around until she heard Sora scream. It cut off then she heard muffled cries. Both she and Riku investigated and found Sora hog-tied with a pair of socks stuffed in his mouth. His arm was out of the sling, and his face screwed up in pain. They both glared at Roxas, making the Nobody feel like he was only three inches tall and they were three hundred feet tall. They untied Sora, and put his arm back in the sling where he'd be in the least pain. "Fine, I admit it, my idea wasn't the best… but it _did_ get him to stop moving."

"Yeah, but he broke an arm!"

"If only they still had the eye-for-eye rule around."

"Huh?"

"There was this old rule, if you poked someone in the eye; you had to poke yourself in the eye. Now Roxas has to break his arm and tie himself up. Almost forgot, you have to stuff those socks in your mouth too."

"No way!"

"Riku, hold him down."

She ignored Roxas' protests and Namine's struggling defense for him. She took Roxas' arm and tried as hard as she could to break it. It didn't break, but Roxas was screaming like it was. She stopped trying and just tied him up. She took the sock and shoved it in his mouth, taking her sweet revenge. He gagged on it before choking.

"So where do we drop him off?"

"How about the Great Maw? Then he can _walk_ home, once he frees himself." she said. The two friends shared evil grins and Riku picked Roxas up, taking him to their destination.

"Say… how come Roxas has a physical form?"

"I don't know…"

"Whatever's behind it, can't be good."

"Mmf…hmm… um!" Roxas said, struggling to break free. Riku put him down halfway there. He removed the sock out of his mouth and spit on the ground. "Don't you _ever_ do that to me _ever_ again. I was trying to tell you 'If I'm separated from Sora for too long, then I'll start breaking away. That's why I have and have had a physical form. I'm only able to remerge with him when he's sleeping. I was gonna go find him and merge again, but something kicked me out."

"Something, or Namine."

"Huh?"

"Don't act like I haven't been watching—"

"You stalker!"

"—you this whole entire time. I saw Roxas change, and I also saw Namine's reaction. Which, I don't blame her since face is identity, but still… how many times has he saved her? And of course, that brings us to how many times Sora has saved y-o-u." he said turning to Kairi. "I've done some math—"

"Where'd the glasses come from?"

"They make me feel smarter. Anyway, I did the math and found out… he's saved you twenty times total from Nobodies in The World That Never Was, thirty on the islands, five in Neverland, fifteen in Hollow Bastion, sixteen in Radiant Garden, and twice in Traverse Town." Riku told her, saying it without the slightest hint of sarcasm. Kairi had become somewhat of a skeptic to the little things, and she was being one right now.

"Not that many times!"

"You fell off a cliff, you lost your heart, you drowned in the fountain, you got sucked into a wormhole, you tripped and had to hang from a window ledge for three hours before sli—"

"Okay! I get it, he saved me a lot. What's the point?"

"It's Namine! Do something about it, or we have to put up with _that_."

"Hey!"

_**I hate to cut off the story, but there's something that needs to be said. There are a lot of views for this story, but hardly any reviews! Is this story that bad, or what? Come on people! Questions? Comments? Concerns about Sora's schizophrenia? Just review! **_


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